iBSUedMonthly  by  the  Diki:  T.odk  ('i>mi>any,  37  Vandewatcr  street.    Sul)scrii>tion  Prict;,  GOcts.  poryear. 
Entered  at  tlie  New  York  Post  Office  as  second-clans  matter,.  December,  1896.- 

YoL  lY.-Mo,  2.       New  York,  January  1, 1897,       Price  5  Cents^ 

LIEUTENANT  GEORGE  TRELLEN; 

OR, 

A  TRICKY    UNION    BOY. 


By  OEOH-aE   B.   W^ILSON, 


WHIRLING  HIS  SWORO  OVER  HIS  HEAD  GEORGE  SHOUTED  A  FEW  WORDS  TO  HIS 

MEN  AND  FORWARD  THEY  WENT  ALt  DETERMINING  TO  BREAK 

THROUGH.  THR  OPPOSmG  LINES. 


LIEUTENANT  GEORGE. 


LIEUTENANT  GEORGE; 

— OR, — 
THA^CBLEO      TO     HIS      XuA^lTt. 


BY  GEORGE  WILSON. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE   IflGHT  ATTACK. 

"  I  say,  George,  you  were  out  to-day. 
Did  you  see  anything?"' 

"Yes,  I  saw  something,"  replied  a 
first  lieutenant,  w!io  was  stretched  on 
the  ground  beside  a  camp-fire.  "One 
can't  help  seeing  something  wherever  he 
goes " 

"  None  o'  your  fooling,  now,"  cried  the 
other.  "You  know  what  I  mean.  Did 
you  see  any  rebs?" 

"  Well,  yes,  I  saw  a  few." 

"Where?" 

"  South-east." 

"What  were  they  up  to?" 

"Ask  the  colonel?" 

"Yes,  that's  the  way,"  grumbled  his 
questioner.  "  I  leave  it  to  you,"  he  went 
on,  turning  to  the  others,  "  tiiat  I  haven't 
got  a  square  answer  out  of  this  honorable 
first  lieutenant  to-night.  His  new  honor 
must  be  too  much  for  him." 

Roused  by  this  rfmark,  the  first  lieu- 
tenant sat  up  and  said: 

"  You  know  well  enough,  Sam,  that 
the  colonel  won't  allow  scoutijig  ma.ttcrs 
to  be  talked  about  at  the  camp-fire,  or  to 
the  troopers  anywhere.  So  you  might  as 
well  give  up  asking  me  questions  on  that 
subject." 

"All  right,"  replied  Sam,  pleased  at 
having  provoked  the  lieutenant  to  reply 
to  his  inuendo.  "I  suppose  you'll  want 
us  to  call  you  Lieutenant  Treilen  instead 
of  plain  George  Treilen  that  you  used 
to  be?" 

"  You  can  suit  your  own  convenience 
about  thkt,"  replied  George,  indiffer- 
ently, and  pulling  a  handsome  silver- 
mounted  revolver  from  his  poeliet  he 
busied  himself  in  carefully  cleaning  and 
polishing  it. 

By  the  time  this  was  finished,  an  or- 
derly approached  the  group  and  saluting 
said: 

"Lieutenant  Treilen,  the  colonel  wishes 
you  to  report  to  him  without  delay." 

"Tell  the  colonel  I  wijl  be  at  his  tent 
in  five  minutes,"  replied  the  lieutenant, 
rising. 

A  moment  after  the  orderly  had  taken 
his  leave,  George  Treilen  had  bidden  ins 
companions  good-niglit,  and  was  walking 
rapidly  toward  a  small  clump  of  trees  in 
wiiich  he  had  tied  his  horse. 


Calling  the  animal,  which  answered 
the  summons  like  a  dog,  heti^itened  the 
bridle  whicii  had  been  tiirown  back  over 
its  neck,  and  vaulting  into  the  saddle  he 
rode  rapidly  to  the  headquarters  of  the 
colonel,  whicli  were  about  a  miledistant. 

Tiie  colonel's  small  body  of  troops  was 
a  detachment  of  Burnside's  army,  whicti 
was  then  at  Knoxville. 

The  Confederate  general,  Longstreet, 
had  begun  liis  advance  against  Burnside, 
and  consequently  it  was  necessary  for 
the  latter  to  maintain  the  greatest  vigi- 
lance in  order  that  he  might  keep  posted 
as  to  his  enemy's  plans  ami  whereabouts. 

For  this  purpose,  Colonel  Kiddins  was 
one  of  the  numerous  officers  detailed  for 
si)ecial  duty,  and  placed  at  the  head  of  a 
body  of  about  one  hundred  men,  and  or- 
dered to  proceed  in  the  direction  from 
whicii  Longstreet  was  expected  to  make 
his  appearance. 

George  Treilen,  the  first  lieutenant 
whom  we  noticed  at  the  bivouac  fire,  was 
one  of  the  colonel's  picked  rnen,  being 
one  of  a  choice  few  brought  along  to 
ser^e  as  an  advance  guard  and  special 
scout. 

When  the  war  broke  out,  George  Avas 
but  seventeen  years  old,  and  conse- 
quently was  unable  to  gain  tlie  consent 
oi  his- relatives  to  follow  the  bent  of  his 
own  inclinations. 

However,  as  reverse  after  reverse  met 
his  country,  he  became  more  and  more 
inliamed  wiih  the  desire  to  share  its  toils 
and  troubleti,  and  his  friends,  realizing 
that  his  constant  fretting  might  even- 
tually destroy  his  health,  finally  with- 
drew all  opposition. 

Three  v/eeks  afterward  he  was  in  the 
battle  of  Murfreesboro,  where  he  behaved 
with  sach  gallantry  in  saving  the  regi- 
mentaJ  flag  that  he  was  "made  a  non- 
commiisioned  officer  on  the  spot,  and 
from  that  time  he  rose  rapitlly,  until  we 
find  him,  hardly  a  y^ear  later,  a  confi- 
dential~scout,  holding  ajirst  lieutenant's 
commission. 

His  reputation  as  a  scout  had  been 
made  by  the  detection  of  the  double- 
dealing  of  one  of  the  pickets  of  a  small 
guaitl  ab')ut  three  mouths  before. 

Every  \  ttle  while  the  camji  would  be 
surprised,  and  the  riisult  was  «,  number 
of  meti  kiK'<"d  or  wounded,  or  valuable 
stores  eithe*^  carried  off  or  destroyed. 

The  picke'^-round  was  very  extensive, 
and  the  attacVs  were  not  always  made  at 
tlse  same  spot   consequently  the  colonel      ^i 
was  loth  to  sutviect  any  of  the  guards  of      s| 
treachery.  "i 

An  accidental  •^'rcimstance aroused  the 
suspiciorts  of  GeCgf*  Trpl'eu   in   the   fol- 
ic wing  manner: 
Tlie  fire  before  h'?r  'rc^^  H^v  turned  low 

m 


LIEUTENANT  GEORGE. 


8 


ere  night,  and  he  behig  unable  to  sleep 
was  about  To  riise  uiut  bit  closer  to  it, 
wlieu  iu!  reeoliected  that  it  could  not 
lack  but  an  liour  oi^two  of  tln;}'li;;ht. 

He  was  about  to  lie  down  ajrain  and 
make  a  last  attempt  to  sleep  wlien  lie 
noticed  tiie  sentry  who,  at  that  monsent 
passed  about  lifry  feet  from  him,  stop  in 
ins  walk  and- looiv  toward  a  worm-fence 
that  enclosed  a  field  of  younji*  }>rain. 

Oeorge  raiseil  himself  on  his  elbow,  but 
CQ^dil  see  or  hear  nothintf,  rhouf<h  the 
guard  seemed  to  see  that  sometliing  un- 
usual was  occurrinj^. 

Georj^e  was  about  to  call  to  him  to  ask 
if  anything  was  stirring,  when  lie  saw 
the  man  straighten  up  and  move  along 
on  his  beat. 

It  struck  George  as  strange  that  the 
sentry  did  not  call  for  the  corporal  of  the 
guard  and  have  tlie  matter  investigated, 
but  as  the  minutes  went  by  and  nothiu^' 
occurred,  lie  was  just  dozing  off  when 
the  call  "All's  well,  four  o'clock!"  was 
passed  around  the  picket. 

Roused  by  this,  George  again  lifted 
himself  from  the  ground. 

Presently  tlie  sentry,  being  the  same 
one  that  lie  had  noticed  befoi'e,  came  by 
and  again  stopped,  looking  earnestly  at 
tlie  worm-fence. 

When  he  turned  away,  George  thought 
he  saw  him  make  a  motion  with  liis 
hand  as  if  to  somebody  behind  the  fence. 

Had  he  any  thoughts  of  the  enemy 
being  near,  George,  upon  his  own  re- 
sponsibility, ^*'ould  have  called  for  the 
corporal,  but  he  attributed  the  fancy  of 
seeing  the  signal  to  the  fact  that  he  was 
not  fully  awake. 

Several  times  in  passing  afterward  the 
sei^try  looked  closely  at  his  sleeping  com- 
panions, and  seemed  satisfied  that  the 
entire  body  was  wrapped  in  slumber. 

Not  many  minutes  after  this  happened 
the  report  of  a  carbine  rung  out  and  the 
cry,  "The  rebs  are  upon  us.  Turnout! 
turn  out!"  followed  by  the  rapid  dis- 
charge ofseveral  more  shots. 

The  instant  y  the  first  alarm  was 
sounded,  George  fastened  liis  eyes  on  the 
sentinel  to  whom  his  attention  had  been 
drawn  throughout  the  night.  TLat  per- 
son dropped  the  butt  of  his  carbine  on 
the  ground  at  once,  then  se'emiug  to 
realize  the  situation,  he  disciharj--ed  his 
musket  in  the  airseveral  times  and  added 
his  voice  to  the  alarm  which  now  spread 
throughout  the  camp. 
WThe  cause  of  the  alarm  appeared  in  tlie 
snape  of  a  small  body  of  Confederate 
cavalry,  which  charged  the  camp  With 
bare  sabers  and  drawn  revolvers. 

The  Union  troops,  of  whom  there  were 
about  one  hundred  infantry  and  a  dozen 
horse,    sprung,   Indian  fashion,     behind 


the  trees  under  which  they  had  en- 
camped, and  poured  a  scattering,  fire  upoa 
tlie  raiders. 

Seeing  a  stronger  force  than  they  had 
reason  to  believe  constituted  the  Union 
troop,  the  Confederate  band  rode  directly 
through  the  camp  and  disappeared  on 
the  pther  side,  wl.enee  they  disappeared 
and  did  not  return  again  that  night. 

This  skirmish  made  a  deep  imiiression 
on  George's  mind  and  as  it  was  only  one 
of  half  a  dozen  that  liad  recently  oc- 
curred, he  determined  to  investigate  the 
cause  of  it. 

The  colonel's 'troop  had  been  attacked 
more  frequently  than  any  in  the  regi- 
ment, and  the  belief  was  beginning  to 
prevail  that  he  was  very  negligent  about 
guarding  against  surprise,  and  still  more 
so  about  concealing  his  presence  from 
the  enemy. 

Naturally,  these  reports  coming  to  his 
ears,  made  the  colonel  particularly  anx- 
ious to  have  the  matter  explained,  but 
his  efforts  had  so  far  resulted  in  nothing. 

Convinced  that  his  clew  was  worth 
some  consideration,  George  deliberated 
as  to  how  he  should  proceed  to  verify  or 
disprove  it. 

The  man's  name  Avas  Sandy  McCosh, 
and  he  was  gruff  and  taciturn,  so  there 
was  no  possibility  of  drawing  him  out  on 
the  subject  of  his  own  doings,  anil  there 
was  no  reason  for  speaking  to  hiiu  on  any 
other  matter. 

George  reasoned  with  himself  for 
awhile  and  finally  concluded  to  ask  the 
colonel's  advice  and  assistance. 

Accordingly  the  next  morning  he  told 
the  orderly  that  lie  wanted  to  speak  to 
colonel. 

That  afternoon  about  three  o'clock  he 
was  ushered  into  the  pi'esence  of  the 
commanding  ofiicer. 


CHAPTER  II. 

^  SURrBISED. 

The  colonel  was  seated  on  his  tent 
pallet  busily  writing,  using  for  a  table 
one  of  the  camp-stools. 

He  put  these  aside  when  George  en- 
tered and  announced  that  he  was  ready 
to  attend  to  him. 

"I  came,  sir,  to  speak  of  the  fight  of 
last  night,''  began  George,  thinking  how 
he  should  introduce  the  principal  object 
of  his  visit. 

"Well,  what  about  it?"  asked  the  col- 
onel, giving  him  a  searching  look. 

"I  thought  1  had  found  out  something 
that  it  was  best  you  should  know,  so  1 
came  here  as  soon  as  you  could  see  me," 
replied  George. 

"What  is  it?"  asked   the  colonel,  be- 


7:iaj>ij 


LIEUTENANT  GEORGE. 


ginning  to  show  a  little  interest.  He 
rose  and  went  to  the  door  of  the  tent  to 
assure  himself  that  no  one  was  in  hear- 
ing distance. 

•'  I  saw  what  I  thought  were  very  queer 
actions  on  the  part  of  one  of  the  sentries, 
and  it  struck  uie  that  it  might  have  some 
connection  with  our  being  attaclved  by 
little  parties  of  the  enemy  so  often." 

"Ah!  is  that  so?"  ejaculated  the  col- 
onel. "If  you  can  unravel  that  business 
you  will  do  what  none  of  us  can.  Tell 
me  at  once  what  you  know." 

Hereupon,  George  related  briefly  but 
fully  what  had  taken  place  the  previous 
night,  and  said  in  conclusion  that  he  did 
not  know  but  that  he  had  been  too  hasty 
in  consulting  with  the  head  of  the  troop 
in  regard  to  what  might  turn  out  a  very 
small  matter,  but  lie  had  always  felt  that 
from  Sandy's  manner  he  seemed  to  hate 
his  comrades.  Still  that  might  be  only 
an  evidence  of  his  sour  disposition. 

The  colonel  remained  silent  some  sec- 
onds after  George  ceased  speakting,  then 
he  broke  out  witii  "H  this  is  true  he's  a 
oloody  scoundrel.  He's  asked  meanum- 
ber  of  times  for  a  furlough  of  only  a  few 
hours  to  go  and  visit  his  sister,  who  lives 
some  twenty  miles  from  here,  he  says, 
and  if  he's  disloyal  it  is  the  easiest  thing 
in  the  world  for  him  to  give  all  our  se- 
crets to  the  enemy,  the  scoundrel." 

George  waited  respectfully  till  the 
wrath  of  the  colonel  had  somewhat  sub- 
sided, then  he  said: 

"I  missed  him  several  times,  but  did 
not  know  that  he  went  any  distance  from 
camp.  Don't  you  think  it  would  be  well 
to  follow  him  on  one  of  his  expeditions 
and  see  where  he  goes  to  aiid  what  he 
does?" 

"  It  wouldn't  take  much  to  send  him  to 
the  halter,"  muttered  the  colonel,  after 
some  minutes  thought. 

"  Humph!"  thought  George  to  himself. 
"  He  must  know  something  that  I  don't, 
for  he  wouldn't  condemn  thejuan  on 
what  I  told  him." 

"Your  idea  is  a  good  one,"  said  the 
celonel,  again  breaking  the  silence,  "and 
when  he  comes  for  another  furlough  I'll 
give  it  to  him  as  I  have  always  done 
hitherto.  Now  as  to  following  him,  I 
suppose  you  don't  want  to  get  yourself 
mixed  up  in  a  hand-to-hand  figlit  with 
guerrillas  or  regulars,  and  I  can  send  a 
regular  scout  to  dog  him." 

"If  you  please,  sir,"  replied  George, 
quickly,  "I'll  follow  him  myself — with 
your  permission.  It  won't  do  me  any 
harm  to  learn  scouting." 

"But  you  have  never  been  out  before, 
and  I  am  afraid  you  would  lose  him,  and 
I  wouldn't  have  "that  happen  for  a  grrat 
deal,"  said  the  colonel,  doubtfully. 


"  I  don't  think  I'll  lose  him,  sir,"  re- 
plied George;  "  besides,  if  I  do,  he'll  come 
back  as  he  has  alwaj'S  done  before." 

"Well,  well,"  said  the  colonel,  good- 
naturedly,  "  you  young  heads  are  always 
hopeful;  besides,  there  is  no  doubt  but 
that  you  have  the  best  claim  to  the  place, 
if  you  want  it." 

Picking  up  his  camp-stool  again,  he 
dashed  off  a  few  lines,  and  handing  it  to 
George  said: 

"  This  will  leave  you  in  or  out  of  tlie 
lines  whenever  there  is  any  necessity  for 
going  and  coming.  See  that  you  do  not 
abuse  the  privilege." 

As  George  was  withdrawing  the  colonel 
called  after  him: 

"  Hold  yourself  in  readiness  to  report 
to  me  the  moment  I  send  tor  you.  Sandy 
may  come  for  his  furlough  any  time." 

The  youn;i  soldier  went  directly  to  his 
i^'Jfirters  and  busied  himself  in  fastening 
the  passport  in  his  coat  in  such  a  manner 
that  it  would  be  perfectly  secure  and  yet 
easy  to  produce  when  the  occasion  pre- 
.sented  itself. 

During  the  next  few  days  nothing  of 
any  note  happened,  and  George,  while 
seemingly  intent  on  keeping  his  arms 
clean,  and  exact  in  the  performance  of 
other  camp  duties,  kept  Sandy  under  his 
eye  almost  the  whole  day.  Of  course,  alt 
night  he  had  not  so  good  an  opportunity, 
except  when  his  turn  to  act  as  guai'd  ar- 
riveil. 

On  the  fifth  day  after  his  talk  with  the 
colonel,  George,  while  talking  to  a  group 
of  friends  about  three  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon, saw  Sandy  moving  toward  head- 
quarters. 

Judging  that  the  time  for  action  had 
arrived,  he  quickly  separated  himself 
from  his  companions,  and  prepared  hiia- 
self,  as  well  as  he  knew  how,  for  the  ex- 
pedition upon  which  he  believed  he  "was 
about  to  engage. 

Two  revolvers  and  ammunition  and 
rations  for  one  daj^  were  as  much  as  he 
thought  worth  while  to  take. 

He  was  not  given  any  time  to  think  of 
the  matter,  for  the  colonel's  orderly  came- 
in,  requesting  him  to  repair  instantly  to- 
head  quarters. 

He  lost  no  time  in  complyiiig,  and  the 
colonel  fairly  seized  him  in  his  haste. 

"  You're  all  ready?  That's  good.  He 
went  down  Harrison  Lane.  He's  on- 
horseback.  You  must  have  a  horse.  Ho! 
orderly,  bring  up  one  of  the  best  horses: 
saddled  and  bridled.     Quick  now." 

It  was  all  George  could  do  to  under- 
stand the  colonel's  directions,  he  talked 
so  rapidly,  and  he  was  glad  when  he  or- 
dered him  to  leave. 

The  only  piece  of  information  he  re<- 
tained,  and  indeed  the  only  bit  the  eoL 


LIEUTENANT  GEORGE. 


onel  in  all  his  talk  had  given  him,  was 
tlie  roatl  that  Sandy  took  as  he  rode  off. 
Wliether  lie  ke[>t  on  in  that  direction 
was  wliat  George  was  anxious  to  tind  out. 

The  horse  provided  tor  liini  was  a 
fairly  good  animal,  the  oidy  objection  to 
it  being  its  lack  of  speed. 

Thus  equipped,  lie  started  down  the 
lane,  Sandy  being  ah'eady  hid  from  view 
by  a  curve  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  ahead. 

Upon  reaching  this  curve  George 
Kprung  to  the  ground  in  order  to  obtain 
a  view  of  the  road  ahead  without  being 
seen  himself.  He  so  much  distrusted 
Sandy  that  he  would  not  have  been  sur- 
prised to  see  him  watching  the  road  on 
the  lookout  for  pursuers. 

His  fears  were  groundless  on  this  score, 
as  he  seiw  Sandy  riding-along  a  little  less 
than  a  quarter  of  a  mile  ahead. 

Turning  the  horse's  head  to  one  side  he 
rode  into  the  trees  which  thickly  lined 
one  side  of  the  lane,  and  urged  him  for- 
ward in  hopes  of  approaching  nearer  to 
the  object  of  his  pursuit  unobserved. 

He  continued  in  this  manner  until  he 
eaw  Sandy  disappear  around  the  bend  in 
the  road,  and  then  bringing  his  horse  out 
where  he  had  free  use  of  his  limbs  urged 
him  forward  at  the  top  of  his  speed  until 
he  reached  the  bend. 

Springing  off  as  before  he  looked  down 
the  road,  expecting  by  his  swift  pace  to 
have  made  considerable  gain,  and  he  was 
fjreatly  surprised  to  find  that  Sandy  had 
tiisappeared.  The  road  run  along  until 
in  the  distance  it  became  as  a  thread, 
but  nothing  living  was  to  be  seen  on  the 
whole  length  hi  the  range  of  George's 
vision. 

Going  quickly  back  to  the  spot  where 
he  had  left  his  horse,  he  led  the  animal  far 
enough  into  the  bushes  so  as  to  escape 
the  eyes  of  any  passers-by,  then  keeping 
himself  as  much  concealed  as  possible  he 
commenced  a  rapid  search  for  the  place 
where  Sandy  had  left  the  road. 

After  going  down  one  side  carefully,  as 
near  as  he  could  judge,  about  an  eighth  of 
ft  mile,  he  crossed  the  road  and  begun 
examining  the  other  side. 

He  had  not  proceeded  far  when  he  dis- 
covered a  track  that  seemed  almost  like 
a  bridle-path. 

Marking  the  spot  he  went  on  more 
rapidly,  for  it  had  entered  his  mind  that 
possibly  there  was  another  such  path 
and  he  might  be  compelled  to  go  over 
both  some  distance  before  he  found  out 
which  one  Sandy  took. 

Wlien  he  arrived  at  the  bend,  after 
more  tlian  half  an  hour's  delaj',  he 
brought  liis  horse  out  of  the  bushes,  and 
giving  him  a  few  smart  cuts  with  aswitcli 
he  proceeded  directly  to  the  path,  where 
jie  found  to  his  chagrin  that  the  limbs  of 


the  trees  hung  so  low  that  he  would   not 
be  able  to  go  faster  than  a  walk. 

By  this  time  the  sun  had  gotten  low  ia 
the  west,  and  there  was  every  prospect 
of  his  having  to  pass  the  night  in  the 
woods  unless  he  came  quickly  to  the  end 
of  his  journey. 

While  occupied  with  these  reflections 
he  reached  a  place  where  the  path  was 
crossed  by  two  others.  Uncertain  which 
to  take  he  dropped  to  the  ground.  This 
time  his  scrutiny  was  more  .•satisfactory. 

In  the  path  that  run  at  right  ang'ies 
with  the  one  on  which  he  was,  he  could 
discern  the  hoof-prints  of  a  horse  in  the 
soft  earth. 

Elated  by  this  discovery,  he  pushed 
on,  endeavoring  to  keep  the  spot  fixed  in 
his  memory  so  that  he  could  tell  wliich 
way  to  go  in  case  it  was  necessary  for 
him  to  return  by  the  same  route. 

He  noticed  as  he  passed  on  that  the 
trees  and  bushes  grew  thickiT  and  closer, 
and  the  track  turiaed  so  frfcpniitly  out 
and  in  to  avoid  the  denser  parts,  that  he 
soon  lost  all  reckoning  of  the  points  of 
the  compass. 

"Humph,"  he  muttered  to  himself. 
"If  Sandy's  sister  has  a  taim,  I  don't  see 
that  tliere  is  a  chaiice  for  her  to  raise 
much  of  anything  in  this  wilderness." 

It  was  already  twilight,  and  he  was 
thinking  seriously  of  riding  into  the  trees 
on  either  side  of  the  track,  and  after 
tying,  the  horse  proceed  on  foot.  If 
Sandy's  story  about  his  sister  was  true, 
he  had  yet  about  twelve  miles  to  go  be- 
fore he  reached  her  liouse.  He  calcu- 
lated that  he  was  about  seven  miles  from 
Harrison  Lane,  and  during  all  those  seven 
miles  he  had  never  once  caught  a  glimpse 
of  Sandy  McCosh.  He  was  almost  posi- 
tive, however,  that  lie  w-as  on  the  right 
trail,  as  he  had  been  able  every  now  and 
then,  while  it  was  still  light,"  to  detect 
the  prints  of  a  horse's  hoofs  in  the  soft 
ground.  He  had  noticed  also  at  a  num- 
ber of  places  there  seemed  to  be  mors 
foot-prints  than  could  be  made  by  one 
horse,  though  without  considering  tlie 
matter  he  supposed  they  were  those 
made  by  Sandy's  horse  on  "former  trips. 

His  thoughts  "were  checked  on  these 
subjects  by  seeing  directly  in  front  a 
light  glimmering  through  the  trees. 

"  There!"  he  said  to  himself,  "I  guess 
I've  struck  sometliing  at  last." 

He  lost  no  time  in  putting  his  horse  in 
a  safe  place,  fearing  to  take  liim  any 
nearer  lest  he  might  neigh  to  the  horses 
if  there  beany  in  the  locality. 

Putting  one  of  his  revolvers  where  he 
could  make  use  of  it  upon  the  instant, 
he  stepped  rapidly  and  noiselessly  for- 
ward toward  the  light. 

Wlien  within  twenty  feet  of  it  he  came 


6 


LIEUTENANT  GEORGE. 


1 


to  the  edge  of  the  forest.  Before  him 
was  a  small  clearing,  and  in  the  midst  of 
it  a  small  siructare  that  looked  like  any- 
thing but  a  farm-house. 

It  was  a  frame  building,  built  of  rough 
boards,  two  stories  higli,  and  on  the 
whole  was  about  twenty  feet  square. 

On  three  sides  were  sheds,  which  an- 
swered for  stables  for  horses,  of  whicii 
there  seemed  to  be  a  large  number  for 
such  an  isolated  place. 

One  rude  window  was  all  that  George 
could  see  that  the  buiUlintr  contained, 
and  from  it  streamed  the  light  which  led 
liim  to  the  spot. 

Getting  close  to  the  window,  George 
endeavored  to  see  what  was  going  on  in- 
side, and  he  was  considerably  astonished 
at  the  scene  that  met  his  gaze. 

In  the  middle  of  the  room  stood  Sandy 
talking  in  a  most  vehement  manner,  re- 
inforcing his  arguments  with  all  kinds  of 
gestures. 

Several  men  were  standing  listening  to 
him,  others  were  seated  on  benches,  and 
fetill  others  were  lying  asleep  oa  the  floor 
wrapped  in  blankets. 

Tiieir  gray  uniforms  left  no  doubt  in 
George's  mind  as  to  the  character  and 
sympathies  of  these  men,  and  he  was 
highly  enraged  when  he  thought  of  the 
perfidy  of  Sandy  McCosh. 

"They  are  the  very  men  that  attacked 
us  the  other  night.  I'm  sure  1  noticed 
that  big  fellow  ride  through  onr  camp," 
he  said  to  himself,  in  exeiten»ent. 

Turning  about  he  struck  into  the 
Avoods  again. 

It  was  between  nine  and  ten  o'clock 
that  night  when  the  cry  of  "  Halt!  who 
goes  there?''  rung  out  in  the  camp  of  the 
colonel's  detachment. 

A  minute  later,  George  Trellen  handed 
his  nearly  exhausted  horse  over  to  an  or- 
df^rly  ami  went  at  once  to  the  colonel, 
who  was  eagerly  awaiting  his  report. 

Ten  minutes  later  both  came  out  of 
the  tent,  and  the  captain  ordered  every 
cavalryman  into  the  saddle,  together  with 
fifty  infantry. 

The  orderly  received  these  orders  with 
great  surprise,  but  he  delivered  them 
promptly. 

When  the  force  appeared  there  were 
but  litteen  horgjes,  counting  every  officer's 
horse  but  that  which  George  brought 
in. 

The  order  was  given  to  move,  and 
George,  who  rode  besitle  the  colonel,  after 
telling  him  of  ihe  certainty  of  capturing 
the  whole  band  in  their  retreat,  went  on 
to  relate  the  facts  of  his  pursuit  of  Sand  j'. 

All  turned  out  as  he  predicted,  the 
whole  band  surrendered  without  a  shot 
being  fired,  and  Sandy  suffered  the  fate 
of  a  deserter. 


,  CHAPTER  III. 

A  THRILLING  ADVENTURE. 

While  we  were  relating  the  adventur*! 
through  which  George  Trellen  became  a 
scout,  he  was  proceeding  rapidly  toward 
the  headquarters  of  the  colonel,  endeav- 
oring, meanwhile,  to  conjecture  on  what 
mission  he  was  to  be  eent. 

He  did  not  doubt  it  was  some  excursion 
into  the  rebel  lines,  notv;iths.itanding  the 
fact  that  he  had  been  going  back  and 
forth  between  the  armies  almost  con- 
tinuously in  the  two  weeks  just  past. 

It  was  probably  ten  njinutes  after  he 
parted  from  his  companions  around  the 
fire  when  he  drew  rein  at  the  colonel's 
headquarters  and  was  immediately  ad- 
mitted. 

Two  per-sons  only  occupied  the  tent, 
the  colonel  and  a  man  whom  George  had 
no  recollection  of  having  ever  before 
seen. 

He  was  a  short,  thick  set,  uniformed 
figure,  about  five  feet  six  inches  in  height, 
with  a  perfectly  smooth  face,  except  a 
moustache  long  enough  to  curl  over  his 
ears. 

He  looked  sharply  at  George,  as  if  he 
would  have  learned  the  cau.-;e  of  his  visit 
to  headquarters  by  looking  him  through 
and  through.  He  made  no  move  to  leave 
the  room  when  George  came  in,  but  re- 
mained still  as  a  statue  in  every  part  of 
his  body  but  his  eyes,  which  roved  about 
constantly,  as  if  suspicious  of  his  sur- 
roundings, or  on  the  lookout  for  some- 
thing. 

"Lieutenant,  I  have  some  work  which 
will  Jieep  you  busy  for  awhile,"  began  the 
colonel,  when  George  entered.  "I'm  go- 
ing to  set  you  to  catch  a  fellow  that  is 
giving  Burnside  a  deal  of  trouble,"  he 
teuton,  as  George  bowed.  "It  seeihs 
this    fellow    is  a    most    notorious  scout 

and Oh,  he's  all  right,  he  knows  all 

about  it,"  he  continued,  as  he  noticed 
George  east  his  eyes  from  one  to  the 
other  in  astonishment. 

Tiie  colonel  then  proceeded  to  give  him 
some  facts  in  re^rard  to  the  scout. 

The  fellow  had  been  seen  close  by  that 
afternoon,  having  just  come  from  Knox- 
ville,  and  supposed  to  have  about  his 
person  information  of  considerable  value, 
in  regard  to  the  fortifications,  for  the 
Confederate  general. 

It  is  well- known  liow  the  armies  of  the 
Nortii  suffered  by  liaving  tlieir  plans  be- 
trayed, by  at'roit  and  skillful  scouts,  into 
the  hands  of  the  enemy. 

The  capital  was  crowded  with  Southern 
emissaries  from  the  day  Wiir  was  declared 
to  the  day  peace  was  proclaimed,  and  it 
was  so  wherever  there  was  an  a?"my. 

Knoxville  was  as  full  of  them,  compare 


LIEUTENANT  GEORGE. 


atively,  as  the  capital,  only  they  were  of 
vastly  more  desperate  character. 

The  scout  upon  whose  track  George 
was  about  to  be  sent,  was  known  to  fre- 
quent Knoxville,  but  his  wonderful  abil- 
ity had  stood  hiui  in  such  good  stead 
th»t,  thoujjii  he  had  been  seen  and  chased 
dozens  of  times  by  tiie  specials  of  Gen- 
eral Bu<,"nside,  he  iiad  never  yet  been 
caught. 

It  was  further  stated  that  he  appeared 
hi  so  many  different  cliaracters  and  in 
so  itiany  different  disguises  that  it  was 
no  uncommon  thing  tor  him  to  talk  witli 
his  fmrsuers  and  give  them  advice  as  to 
their  search,  while  they  never  dreamed 
but  that  he  was  one  of  the  officers  or 
privates  of  the  army. 

One  time  he  \vould  appear  clad  in  a 
h\ue  uniform,  again  ride  boldly  to  the 
city  attired  in  a  Confederate  uniform, 
give  out  that  he  was  a  deserter,  and  pre- 
tend to  disclose  valuable  information  as 
to  the  whereabouts  and  numbers  of  the 
Confederates.  This  turning  out  false, 
and  he  being  sought  for  to  undergo 
punishment,  it  was  always  learned  that 
he  liad  strangely  and  unaccouutably  dis- 
appeared. 

According  to  report,  he  had  the  faculty 
of  appearing  ao  an  old  or  as  a  young 
man;  sometimes  with  the  wliite  hair  of 
age,  at  others  with  brown  or  red.  He 
had  been  seen  only  two  days  apart  with 
a  smooth  face  and  with  ehin  and  ]Tps 
covered  with  a  thick,  bushy  beard. 

Strange  to  say,  those  who  described 
him  never  seemt-d  to  recognize  him  wlien 
face  to  face  u'itli  him.  It  was  only  after- 
ward that  it  seemed  to  dawn  on  them. 

So  much  for  the  man  that  George  was 
ordered  to  bring  alive  or  dead  to  his 
superior. 

"It  is  said  he  was  seen  about  here," 
said  the  colonel,  after  giving  all  tiie  in- 
formation he  knew  about  tlie  scout, 
"  but  youjliad  better  start  in  at  Knoxville. 
Some  of  those  old  cane-brake  stalicers 
and  bush-whackers  can  tell  j^ou  some 
things  tliat  will  surprise  us  all  if  you  can 
make  tlsem  talk." 

When  George  left  the  tent  he  took  a 
good  look  at  the  stranger,  who  had 
turned  around  so  that  nothing  but  his 
back  could  be  seen. 

"It's  my  private  opinion  that  the 
colonel's  very  imprudent  to  talk  business 
before  a  strangar,  as  he  did  to-night," 
muttered  George,  as  he  hurrieii  away  to 
prepare  himself  for  his  trip.  "Even  if 
that  man  v^^as  his  brotiier  he  had  no  right 
to  tell  Iiim  wliat  1  had  to  do.  If  he 
wanted  to  he  nright,  for  all  1  know,  set 
the  scout  on  his  guard,  and  then  I'd 
never  catch  him." 

Thus,  grumbling  to    himself,    George 


went  quickly  to  his  quarters  and  stripped 
off  his  uniform,  replacing  it  with  an  old 
brown  suit  and  a  slouch  hat  that  pulled 
down  over  his  forehead. 

Arming  himself  as  usual  with  two  re^ 
volvers,  he  flung  himself  into  the  saddle 
and  rode  off  toward  Kno.wille. 

A  half  hour's  ride  brought  him  to 
the  advance  lines  of  Burnsides  army,  and 
from  there  till  he  reached  the  city  he  was 
kept  busy  giving  pass-words  and  going 
through  the  forms  of  army  routine. 
Upon  reaching  the  city  he  informed  the 
V)roper  officer  of  theorder  he  had  received 
from  Colonel  Kiddens,  ajid  that  gentle- 
man said,  shrugging  his  shoulders,  "I 
don't  think  I  would  care  to  execute  that 
order  if  I  were  you." 

"Why  not?"  asked  George. 

"  Because,"  replied  the  other,  "  the 
Confederate  scout,  besides  being  the 
most  tricky  rascal  T  ever  saw,  is  a  dead 
shot  and  many's  the  good  fellow  he's 
laid  low  when  hard  pressed  in  his  in- 
fernal wanderings." 

"The  trouble  seems  to  me  to  find  him,"' 
replied  George.  "  He's  welcome  enough 
to  try  his  skill  on  me  if  he  only  comes 
n^-ir  enough." 

"Don't  trouble  yourself  about  that," 
said  the  other,  with  a  laugh.  "You'll 
find,  like  many  others,  that  it  will  be 
like  the  fellow  who  went  out  to  hunt  the 
bear  but  hadn't  gone  far  when  he  "found 
the  bear  was  hunting  him." 

"Well,  that  will  be  better  than  not 
seeing  or  finding  out  anything  about 
him,"  replied  George.  "  Give  me  a  guar- 
antee that  I'll  not  be  disturbed  and  I'll 
see  what  I  can  do." 

A  slip  signed  by  General  Burnside  was 
filled  up  and  handed  him,  conferring 
upon  him  the  privilege  of  going  through 
the  lines  at  ail  times  without  molestation. 

Placing  this  in  a  safe  pocket  of  h's  old 
torn  coat  he  rode  into  the  city,  looking 
as  villainous  as  any  one  in  the  whole 
city. 

Before  he  had  proceeded  any  distance 
he  bethought  iiim  of  his  horse;  he  could 
not  take  the  animal  with  him  to  all  the 
taverns  and  ilens  which  he  expected  it 
would  be  necessary  for  him  to  go  through, 
and  yet  he  wished  to  have  him  at  hand 
so  as  to  be  able  to  make  use  of  him  at  a 
moment's  notice. 

He  did  not  thiidi  it  possible  to  strike 
the  track  of  the  scout  that  night  unless 
he  was  very  fortunate,  and  he  had  re- 
ceived orders  from  tne  colonel  to  report 
to  him  the  next  liight  not  later  than  nine 
o'clock. 

He  resolved,''fherefore,  to  put  the  ani- 
mal where  he  would  be  reasonably  safe 
until  he  hatl  occasion  t-o  u.se  him. 

About  fifteen  minutes  later  he  found  a 


8 


LIEUTENANT  GEORGE. 


place,  and  after  tyinj?  the  horse  carefully 
he  stepped  out  into  tlie  street  and  walketl 
up  to  a  liard-visaged  man,  who  wasstaiid- 
in-;  iialf  a  block  away,  and  .-isked: 

"  Can  you  tell  aie  where  Ball's  tavern 
is?" 

"Got  any  money?"  asked  the  man, 
payiuj^  no  attention  to  the  question. 

"No;  why?"  said  George,  in  surprise. 

""Cause  ye  can't  buy  me  notliin'  to 
drink  "tliout  money,  an' I  don't  tell  things 
for  notliin',"  and  tiie  fellow  walked  off. 

Geortfe  quickly  recovered  himself,  and 
springing:  after  the  man  he  caught  him 
by  the  neck,  at  the  same  time  thrusting 
his  revolver  into  his  face  and  saying: 

"  1  asked  you  a  plain  question,  and  I 
want  an  answer,  or  I'll  arrest  you." 

The  fellow,  unaccustomed  to  being 
tripped  up  so  suddenly,  looked  up  and 
sullenly  demanded,  "  Take  that  shootin'- 
iron  down." 

"Answer  my  question  first,"  said 
George,  sternly. 

"  1  don't  know  what  it  is,"  replied  the 
fellow,  in  a  surly  tone. 

"Yes  you  do,"  said  George,  growing 
angry.  "  Remember  I  have  it  in  my 
power  to  arrest  >ou,  and  I  can  get  you 
strung  up  as  a  spy  to-morrow  morning. 
Speak  quick." 

"  It's  a  good  ways  from  here,"  was  his 
reply. 

"  All  right,"  said  George,  without  giv- 
ing him  any  more  time  to  think.  "You 
may  just  come  along  with  me  and  show 
me  where  it  is." 

After  considerable  oljjection  on  the 
part  of  the  other,  which  George's  threats 
effectually  silenced,  they  started  off  in 
quest  of  the  tavern. 

The  colonel  had  told  George,  among 
other  things,  that  the  scout  spent  con- 
siderable time  at  a  small  house  of  bad 
reputation,  called  Ball's  tavern,  where, 
through  others  who  made  the  place  their 
home,  he  gathered  not  a  little  of  the  in- 
formation which  so  often  led  to  results 
disastrous  to  the  Union  arms. 

It  was  George's  plan  to  go  through  this 
place,  and  without  putting  himself  for- 
ward in  any  way  learn  what  he  could  by 
keeping  his  eyes  and  ears  open. 

He  trusted  in  his  seedy  appearance  to 
ward  off  any  specJal  observation,  or  any 
questions  wliich  might  be  inconvenient 
for  him  to  answer. 

His  guide  made  no  attempt  to  deceive 
him.  but  led  him  directly  as  |)ossible  to  a 
corner,  whence  he  pointed  to  a  small  tri- 
angular piece  of  red  glass,  a  little  dis- 
tance up  the  street,  across  which  was 
marked  in  white  letters  "Ball's." 

Without  waiting  to  see  whether  his 
vanquisher  noticed  the  sign,  the  desper- 
ado turned  away  and    was  soon   lost   to 


sight  among  the  small  ruinous  buildings 
of  that  squijlid  quarter. 

George  did  not  waste  time  looking  after 
him,  but  examining  his  weapons  an<i 
concealing  them  carefully,  he  walked 
directly  to  the  door  of  the  tavern  and 
pausetl  an  instant. 

Shouts  were  issuing  from  the  inside, 
and  occasionally  some  one  would  bi'eak 
out  in  a  bacchanalian  song,  in  which  a 
number  of  other  voices  joined.  Truly 
this  was  a  desperate  den,  and  George 
thought  if  he  came  out  of  it  alive  he  was 
to  be  congratulated,  and  he  didn't  see 
how  it  was  possible  to  think  of  escaping 
unwounded. 

After  looking  up  and  down  the  street, 
he  sprung  up  the  ricketj'  steps  which  led 
to  the  door  and  walked  in. 

At  first  he  could  scarcely  see  for  the 
tobacco  smoke  which  floated  in  the  at- 
mosphere of  tlie  room  in  dense  clouds,  as 
if  its  occupants  were  trying  to  smoke 
each  other  out.  The  fumes  of  beer  were 
so  strong  as  to  be  almost  sickening. 

After  becoming  a  little  accustomed  to 
these  conditions,  he  cast  a  rapid  glance 
around  the  room,  which  contained  aV)Out 
a  dozen  chairs  and  three  tables,  besides  a 
huge  stove  in  which  there  was  no  fire, 
the  weather  ijeing  almost  as  warm  as  at 
midsummer. 

There  were  half  a  dozen  men  seated, 
four  at  one  table  and  two  at  anothey. 

Ilk  a  little  ante-room  was  another  man, 
surrounded  by  kegs  and  bottles,  which 
formed  the  drinkiiig  portion  of  the  place. 

George  humbly  approached  the  table 
at  whieii  lour  of  the  men  were  seateii, 
and  they,  after  casting  a  suspicious  .'lance 
upon  him,  went  on  with  their  game  of 
cards,  deeming  him  of  too  little  account 
to  receive  any  more  notice. 

After  watcliing  them  a  few  moments  he 
turned  his  attention  to  the  other  two 
men,  who  were  talking  earnestly  to- 
gether in  low  tones.  They  seemed  to  be 
men  of  more  int.elligence  than  the  card- 
players,  and  altogether  seemed  a  better 
class  of  men  in  every  way. 

George  shifted  his  position  so  as  to  ap- 
proach nearer  to  them,  intent  upon  hear- 
ing their  conversation,  hoping  they  might 
touch  u|)on  the  man  of  whom  he  was  so 
anxious  to  hear  more. 

Several  times  while  moving  around  he 
detected  the  bar-tender's  gaze  fastened  on 
him. 

This  made  him  uncomfortable,  and  he 
approached  the  bar  and  called  for  a  mug 
of  beer,  hoping  by  this  means  to  disarm 
the  man's  suspicions,  if  he  entertained 
any,  and  also  To  have  a  pretext  for  sit- 
ting down  near  the  two  men  whose  con- 
versation he  was  so  desirous  of  hearing. 

He  found  eiiough  pennies  in  his  pock- 


LIEUTENANT  GEQRGE. 


9 


e is  to  pay  for  liis  beer,  notwithsiandiiij^ 
lie  had  toltl  tlie  man  who  acted  as  his 
f^uide  lie  had  none,  and  taking  it  from 
the  bar  he  went  to  the  third  table  and  set 
down  in  the  hearinj;  oi  the  two  men. 

They  did  not  seem  to  notice  him,  but 
continued  their  talk,  but  on  subjects  in 
which  (jrtorge  had  no  interest. 

At  length  he  lieard  one  of  them  say  in 
an  eajjer  tone,  '•  there  he  is, "and  looking 
up  he  saw  a  new-comer  just  entering  the 
room  from  the  street.  One  of  those  at 
the  table  went  up  to  him  and  addressed 
him  as  Bill,  bringing  liim  to  the  table 
where  his  companions  set. 

"  He  told  us  to  meet  you  here  an'  we've 
been  here  since  supper,"  begun  one  of 
the  meuf  in  a  tone  so  low  that  Greorge 
could  scarcely  distinguish  the  words. 

"  He  did?"  questioned  the  new-comer, 
as  if  surprised  at  the  words. 

"  Yes,  he  did,  an'  las'  night,  too,"  re- 
plied the  other. 

Bill  made  no  reply,  but  rising  fi-om  the 
table  stepped  up  to  the  bar  and  spoke  a 
moment  to  the  bar-tender,  who  pres- 
ently handed  him  a  slip  of  paper  which 
he  took  from  a  drawer  in  the  bench. 

Bill  glanced  over  the  paper  and  care- 
lessly crumpling  it  in  liis  hand  returned 
to  the  table  where  his  friends  impatiently 
awaited  him. 

"It's  all  right,"  he  said  to  them  as  he 
set  down.  "  He  told  me  may  be  he'd  get 
you  two  to  hunt  up  suthin'  fur  him,  an' 
now  I  know  what  it  is  he  wants  done." 

"Well,"  said  the  others,  impatiently. 

"You're  to  go  among  all  the  divisions 
of  the  army,  and,"  here  lie  lowered  his 
voice  to  a  whisper,  and  Greorge  could 
catch  here  and  there  the  words,  "feel- 
ings,"   "numbers,"  and  "  Ball's   tavern." 

From  this  he  concluded  that  they  were 
to  be  sent  into  Burnside's  army  tor  the 
purpose  of  gaining  information  on  partic 
ular  parts  of  the  equipment,  and  here- 
solved  at  the  same  time  to  see  the  bit  of 
paper  whicn  the  man  called  Bill,  held  in 
his  hand. 

Whether  this  would  give  him  any  as- 
sistance in  his  search  lie  could  not  be 
sure  until  he  had  seen  it,  but  he  was 
almost  certain  that  it  was  written  by  the 
man  he  was  following. 

The  three  men  gave  him  no  more 
chance  to  play  eavesdropper,  for  they 
moved  their  chairs  up  to  tlie  stove  out  of 
George's  reach,  though  they  knew  per- 
fectly well  there  was  no  fire  in  ir. 

After  toying  with  the  paper  some  time 
longer,  Bill  opened  the  stove  door  and 
dropped  it  inside,  and  tlien  rising,  he 
went  and  stood  in  the  outer  door  watch- 
ing the  passers-bj'. 

The  other  two  liaving  probably  re- 
ceived all  their  instructions,  moved  up 


to  the  other  tai)lc  where  the  card-playing 
was  still  going  on. 

This  seemed  a  favorable  opportunity 
for  George  to  get  possession  of  tlie  paper, 
and  he  cautiously  but  leisurely  ap- 
proached the  stove. 

]So  one  appeared  to  notice  hiui,  and 
when  he  reached  the  tloor  he  liastily 
swept  his  eyes  about  the  room. 

The  bar-tender  was  engaged  in  cleaning 
some  heavy  beer  glasse.s,  and  the  other 
men  were  watching  the  game. 

Feeling  that  he  would  nf)t  have  a  more 
favorable  opportunity  he  hastily  stooped 
down  and  opened  the  do(jr. 

The  little  ball  of  jjaper  lay  on  a  pile  of 
chips  almost  at  the  back  of  the  stove. 
As  his  fingers  closed  about  it  he  heard 
an  exclamation  of  rage  and  astonishment, 
quickly  followed  by  footsteps  across  the 
floor. 

Jerking  his  hand  out  of  the  stove  and 
slipping  the  i)aper  into  a  pocket,  he 
turned  around  appalled  at  the  sight  that 
met  his  gaze. 

Bill  was  advancing  upon  him  with  a 
long,  gleaming  knife.  He  bad  turned 
just  in  time  to  detect  George  reachir.g 
into  the  stove,  and  instantly  surmised 
his  purpose. 

Believing  himself  in  the  presence  of  a 
Union  spy,  he  naturallj'  decided  to  cap- 
ture him  at  once. 

George's  heart  sunk  at  his  approach, 
not  because  he  feared  the  man,  but  be- 
cause he  dreaded  worse  than  anything 
§lse,  the  prospect  of  failure.  In  the 
room  were  eight  men  and  the  only  possi- 
bility of  saving  himself  and  retaining  the 
paper  was  to  resort  to  flight. 

The  men  at  the  card-table  had  sprung 
to  their  feet  at  once,  and  each  seized  a 
chair  as  if  resolved  to  have  a  hand  in  the 
fight  also. 

Springing  behind  the  stove,  which 
from  its  height  and  large  diameter  af- 
forded an  impromptu  breastwork,  George 
whipped  out  his  revolver  and  leveled  it 
at  Bill,  when  a  new  enemy  appeared  on 
the  scene. 

The  bar-tender  leaped  upon  the  bar 
grasping  a  heavy  glass  bottle  in  each 
hand. 

Things  were  now  beginning  to  get 
warm,  and  his  assailants  begun  to  close 
in. 

Considering  Bill  his  most  dangerous 
adversary,  George  kept  his  revolver 
leveled  at  him,  while  his  eyes  glanced 
warily  at  the  others.  The  bar-tender, 
perceiving  his  chance,  raised  one  of  the 
bottles  and  hurled  it  through  the  air 
like  a  cannon-ball.  As  he  dodged  be- 
hind the  stove  to  avoid  it,  George 
emptied  his  revolver  into  Bill,  who 
fell  to  the  floor  with  a  groan,  while  the 


10 


LIETTTENANT  GEORGE. 


MS 


bottle    crashed    into   a   thousand    pieces 
against  the  wall. 

Raisinjj^  l)is  sujoking  revolver  a<;ain 
Geor;4e  leveled  it  at  the  bar-tender,  who 
was  about  to  launch  another  missile. 

Seeint?  this  one  of  the  men  swung  his 
chair  about  his  head  and  hurled  it  with 
all  his  strength.  As  he  dodged  this 
George's  revolver  cracked  again  and  it 
•was  the  bar-tender  this  tiuje  who 
droppeil,  but  not  before  he  had  sent  an- 
other bottle  whizzing  in  dangerous  prox- 
imity past  George's  head. 

The  course  of  The  chair  was  not  so  true; 
it  sti-uck  The  stove-pipe  and  knocked  it 
down,  tilling  the  room  with  a  cloud  of 
soot  which'for  a  moment  almost  blinded 
George. 

Before  he  could  recover  the  second 
chair  was  thrown,  and  resulted  more  dis- 
astrously than  the  first,  knocking  the 
huge  sTove  over  with  a  tremendous 
crash,  thus  destroying  George's  only 
means  of  protection  except  liis  revolver. 

By  the  time  he  had  his  eyes  cleared 
from  the  soot  he  was  surrounded  by  six 
men,  each  brandishing  a  chair.  Turning 
like  lightning  on  one  who  was  about  to 
strike,  he  placed  the  muzzle  of  his  revol- 
ver against  liis  body  and  fired,  the 
rebound  blowing  a  horrible  holejn  tiie 
man\s  body. 

His  sudden  turning  on  this  man  may 
be  said  to  have  saved  Ins  life,  for  another 
of  his  antagonists  had  brought  a  chair 
down  with  terrific  force  upon  the  place 
where  he  stood  an  instant  before. 

This  took  effect  on  the  liead  of  one  of 
his  comrades,  crushing  his  head  in  a  ter- 
rible manner  and  spattering  his  brains 
on  the  floor. 

Taking  advantage  of  the  confusion  this 
mishap  caused,  George  sprung  out  of  the 
group,  bestowing  upon  one  who  endeav- 
ored to  intercept  him  a  vicious  blow  with 
the  butt  of  his  revolver. 

Hai  dly  knowing  where  he  was  going, 
he  sprung  through  the  door  which  led 
from  the  room,  and  finding  himself  in  a 
passage-way  ran  the  length  of  it  at  the 
top  of  his  speed,  madly  jmrsued  by  his 
late  antagonists. 

Kicking  open  a  door  which  resisted  his 
progress,  he  found  himself  in  pitchy 
darkness,  but  upon  looking  upward  he 
saw  the  sky  overhead.  His  eyes  becom- 
ing somewhat  accustomed  to  the  con- 
dition of  things,  he  was  enabled  to  .*;<  e  a  tail 
fence  about  twenty  feet  in  front  of  him. 

Springing  to  it  he  clambered  over  and 
dropped  on  the  other  side,  just  as  his 
pursuers  reached  the  yard.  He  found 
himself  in  a  narrow  alley  wl;ence  he 
quickly  emerged  upon  a  street  that  he 
recognized  as  the  one  in  which  he  had 
hidden  his  horse. 


Ten  minutes  later  he  was  riding  out  cf 
KnoxviJle  on  his  way  to  Colonel  Kiddin's 
headquarters. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE   OLD   STONE   HOUSE. 


After  riding  about  half  an  hour,  during 
Vidiicli  time  he  recovered  his  breath,  he 
begun  to  feel  the  effects  of  his  fierce  fight 
in  tiie  tavern. 

His  eyes  pained  very  much,  and  he 
concluded,  from  a  swelling  in  bis  fore- 
head, that  he  had  been  rfruck  by  some- 
thing which  in  the  excitement  and  tur- 
moil of  the  moment  he  had  not  noticed. 

He  shuddered  as  he  thought  of  the 
fight  and  its  fatal  cons^equences;  two  men 
at  leiisthad  fallen  victims  to  his  revolver. 

This  much  he  was  sure  of,  and  how 
dangerously  the  others  were  wounded  he 
could  only  conjecture. 

The  fact  of  his  own  nuraculous  escape, 
practically  unwounded,  he  attributed  to 
his  good  fortune  of  happening  among  the 
desperadoes  when  they  were  totally  with- 
out fire-arms. 

All  this  slaughter  over  an  insignificant 
piece  of  white  paper,  which  possibly  con- 
tained nothing  of  any  value  toward  the 
furtherance  of  his  plans. 

Recalling  this  to  mind  he  resolved  to 
learn  the  contents  of  the  note,  for  the 
possession  of  which  he  had  imperiled  his 
life,  as  soon  as  a  favorable  opportunity 
presented  itself.    ^ 

About  ten  miles  from  Knoxville  he  en- 
tered a  thick  forest,  which  the  moonless 
night  rendered  doubly  gloomy. 

Through  this  his  road  lay  for  about 
three  miles,  the  whole  length  of  which 
was  unbroken  by  the  presence  of  a  single 
house. 

It  seemed  to  be  one  of  those  numerous 
tracts  opened  for  the  first  time  during 
the  late  war  for  the  passage  of  the  oppos- 
ing armies,  and  altogether  was  as  wierd 
and  uninviting  as  the  wilderness  itself. 

Here  it  might  be  sitrmised  uiany  guer- 
rillas and  other  characters  of  the  wai" 
made  their  home,  but  the  near  approach 
of  the  rival  armies  had  driven  them  to 
more  secure  quarters. 

As  he  came  to  a  cross  in  "the  roads  the 
horse,  unnoticed  by  his  rider,  diverged 
from  the  main  road  into  that  which  led 
still  further  into  solitudes  of  the  forest. 

So  much  occupied  in  turning  over  the 
events  of  the  last  few  hours  in  his  mind, 
George  did  not  notice  the  deviation  until 
he  was  aroused  by  seeing  a  light  some 
distance  ahead. 

He  pulled  the  horse  up  with  a  jerk,  un- 
certain for  a  moment  where  he  was. 
Knowing  there  was  no  house  onthemai* 


LIEUTENANT  GEORGE. 


11 


road,  he  perceived  that  in  allowing  the 
horse  the  freedom  of  tiie  lines,  lie  had 
been  carried  out  of  his  way,  thoufj^li  how 
far  he  could  not  determine. 

Being  unaware  ot  the  presence  of  any 
habitations  in  the  forest,  he  resolved, 
from  motives  of  prudence  and  also  from 
curiosity,  to  proceed  far  enough  to  learn 
the  meaning  of  a  light  in  such  an  out-of- 
the-way  spot. 

Cautiously  moving  forward  he  found 
to  his  suri)rise,  after  going  about  two 
hundred  yards,  that  a  large  stone-house' 
occupied  a  cleared  eminence  on  one  sid^ 
of  the  road. 

Slipi)ing  from  his  horse  and  leading 
him  into  the  shrubbery  which  grew 
thickly  on  all  sides,  he  started  lor  the 
house,  which  was  appi'oached  by  a  long 
avenue  flanked  on  each  side  by  a  row  of 
tail  trees. 

Except  for  the  light  which  streamed 
from  a  lower-story  window  on  one  side  of 
the  large  front  door,  the  place  might 
have  been  supposed  completely  deserted. 
Not  a  light  appeared  through  any  of  the 
tightly  closed  shutters,  and  from  the 
grass  which  he  could  see  upon  the  drive- 
way, even  in  the  darkness,  George  be- 
lieved the  inhabitants  were  only  tem- 
porary. 

Keeping  out  of  the  rays  which  shone 
from  the  window,  he  stepped  close  to  the 
wall  and  made  a  hasty  survey  of  the 
room  inside.  Contrary  to  his  expecta- 
tions the  room  was  furnished  not  pro- 
fusely, but  enough  to  deny  any  appear- 
ance of  bareness. 

An  old-fashioned  sofa,  half  a  dozen 
chairs,  and  a  table  were  arrayed  decor- 
ously along  the  walls,  and  the  floor  was 
covered  with  a  rich  t)iough  considerably 
worn  carpet. 

That  wiiich  concentrated  George's  at- 
tention was  a  desk  standing  in  the  middle 
of  the  floor,  witli  a  man  on  each  side  of  it. 
On  the  top  of  the  desk  was  a  valise,  a 
sword  and  the  lamp  whose  light  attracted 
our  hero  to  the  spot. 

One  of  the  lyeu  was  dressed  in  the  uni- 
form of  a  Confederate  captain. 

He  sat  behind  the  desk  with  his  eyes 
fastened  upon  his  companion,  who  was 
looking  at  some  documents  which  he  had 
taken  from  the  valise. 

The  captain  had  a  .smooth  face  and 
was  a  tall,  well-built  man,  probably  thirty 
years  of  age.  That  he  distrusted  his 
companion  miyiit  be  inferred  from  the 
fact  that  he  held  a  revolver  in  the  hand^ 
that  rested  on  the  desk. 

The  other  man  was  dres.sed  in  citizen's 
clothes,  and  was  short  and  fat,  also  v,'ith 
a  smooth  face. 

George  cDuld  see  that,  though  he  was 
busily  engaged  examining  papers,  he  de- 


tected every  movement  his  companion 
made,  and  from  the  manner  in  which  his 
eyes  roved  back  and  forth  to  the  revolver 
it  was  evident  that  he  had  no  intention  of 
provoking  its  owner  to  use  it. 

At  length  the  portly  individual  opened 
a  legal-looking  paper,  and  after  running 
his  eye  liastily  over  it  handed  it  to  his 
companion  with  the  remark,  "what  do 
you  think  of  thatf 

Tlieother  took  it  up  and  begun  to  read 
it  attentively. 

Meanwhile  the  portly  man  reached 
with  a  cat-like  movement  another  paper, 
and  as  his  fingers  closed  about  it  he  raised 
his  eyes  to  the  face  of.  the  captain  who 
was  still  reading  and  apparently  did  not 
notice  this  by-play.  As  if  satisfied  that 
he  was  unobserved  the  portly  man  ex- 
pertly withdrew  the  paper  from  the  table 
and  slipped  it  into  tlie  crack  in  the  desk 
on  the  side  opposite  the  captain. 

When  the  latter  put  down  the  paper 
which  he  had  been  reading,  his  compan- 
ion was  quietly  examining  the  papers 
that  remained  in  the  valise,  as  if  nothing 
had  occurred  to  interrup'u  him  in  the 
occupation. 

At  length,  as  if  he  had  exhausted  all 
his  efrorts,  he  pushed  himself  back  a 
little  from  the  table,  at  the  same  time 
spreading  his  hands  deprecatingly,  and 
saying:  "It's  no  use,  you  see,  ca'ptain. 
The  paper,  somehow  or  other,  has  dis- 
appeared, but  where  to  or  how  I  cannot 
say.  1  think  you  had  better  give  me  a 
little  more  time." 

"Not  another  day,"  cried  the  other, 
determinedly.  "You  know  where  that 
paper  is,  and  you  must  and  shall  produce 
it.  All  the  papers  of  the  estate  were 
given  into  your  keeping,  that  one  among 
the  rest,  and  Til  have  it  or  have  your  lite,' 
and  he  grasped  the  revolver  in  his  hand 
more  tightly. 

It  may  have  been  his  intention  to  carry 
out  his  threat  then  and  there,  and  but 
for  a  sudden  interruption  his  compan- 
ion's blood  might  have  been  soilled  on 
the  spot. 

Just  as  the  captain  ceased  speaking  the 
report  of  a  musket  echoed  through  the 
forest,  and  the  sounds  of  horses'  feet 
rapidly  nearing  the  house  were  heard. 
Both  men  sprung  to  their  feet  as  if,  un- 
certain who  the  new-comers  might  be. 

"I'll  see  you  again,''  said  the  captain, 
in  a  threatening  tone,  "and  remember 
what  is  sure  to  happen  to  you  If  that 
p;!j)er  is  not  given  to  me  in  a  very  short 
time." 

Just  as  the  fat  man  opened  his  lips  to 
reply  a  half-dozen  blue-coats  burst  into 
the  room.  Bounding  to  the  desk  Mith 
activity  astonishinu- foroneof  hisweight, 
he  extinguished  the  light,  leaving  their 


12 


LIEUTENANT.  GEORGE. 


n 


pursuers  groping  ab"6nt  in  the  darkness, 
while  he  and  his  companion,  owing 
doubtless  to  their  superior  knowledge  of 
the  place,  easily  made  their  escape  from 
the  room. 

As  soon  as  George  ascertained  that 
the  invading  party  was  composed  of 
United  States  troops  he  walked  boldly 
into  tlieir  midst,  v.reating  no  little  sur- 
prise by  his  sudden  ap[»earance. 

Two  of  the  cavalrymen  at  once  laid 
hands  on  him  and  were  promptly  shaken 
ofT  and  asked  to  couduet  him  to  their 
commanding  officer  without  delay.  As 
soon  as  the  latter  issued  from  the 
houpe  after  an  unsuccessful  search  for 
the  rebel  captain,  George  was  brought 
before  iiim. 

"Ah,  ha!''  he   exclaimed,  "a  prisoner." 

"No,  sir;  I'm  nobody's  prisoner,"  re- 
pied  George,  emphaticall}'. 

"  What  are  you  doing  here,  then,  and 
who  .are  you?"  asked  the  officer,  suspi- 
ciously. 

"  It  you  can  get  enough  light  to  read 
by  I  can  soon  satisfy  you  on  that  point," 
returned  George,  who  did  not  wonder  at 
being  an  object  of  suspicion,  considering 
his  garb. 

A  torch  was  accordingly  brought,  and 
while  the  officer  was  satisfying  himself 
as  to  his  captive's  good  intentions, 
George  liimself  pulled  the  white  slip 
from  his  pocket  and  spread  it  out.  It 
was  as  follows: 

"  Meet  me  in  Canebrake  swamp  at  the 
rendezvous  on  the  night  of  the  Ibth. 

"  Graycoat." 

"Humphl'I  muttered  George,  as  he  re- 
turned it  to  his  pocket,  "I  made  a  big 
risk  for  that,  but  maybe  it  wiU  turn  out 
that  I  didn't  risk  too  much." 

He  was  treated  with  much  more  cere- 
mony by  the  party  of  cavalry  since  the 
officer  had  examined  his  papers,  and  was 
urgently  requested  to  accompany  the 
party  to  their  canif),  but  as  he  was  in 
haste  to  report  to  the  colonel,  he  refused 
the  inviration. 

The  officer  was  a  thorough  gentleman, 
and  by  the  time  tlie  party  reached  the 
cross-roads  it  seemed  to  George  almost 
as  if  that  they  had  been  friends  for  some 
time,  instead  of  acquaintances  of  less 
than  an  hour. 

They  parted  at  the  cross-roads,  and  in 
less  than  an  hour  GeiM-ge  reached  tlie 
colonel's  headquarters. 


CHAPTER  V. 

A  TIMKLY   RESCUE. 

During  the  immediately  ensuing   four 
pr  live  days  George  was  kept  busy  going 


back  and  forth  with  information  con- 
cerning details  which  the  colonel  was 
most  anxious  to  fully  understand.  There- 
fore neither  of  them  had  any  time  to  con- 
sider the  mysterious  note  of  the  redoubt- 
able rebel  scout,  who  fancifully  styled 
himself  Graycoat. 

Beyond  making  his  report,  he  had  no 
conversation  with  the  colonel  on  the 
stibject,  and  as  the  eighteenth  day  of 
the  month  was  some  little  time  ahead, 
he  inferred  that  the  colonel  had  decided 
to  postpone  the  hunt  for  the  scout  until 
some  of  the  more  pressing  affairs  were 
disposed  off. 

The  colonel  professed  to  be  much 
pleased  with  the  result  of  his  investiga- 
tions at  Knoxville,  but  George  couldn't 
help  feeling  that  he  diil  not  possess  his 
superior's  full  confidence. 

He  still  remembered  the  man  whom  he 
had  seen  in  the  colonel's  headquarters, 
and  how  he  had  received  his  orders 
openly  in  the  hearing  of  strangers,  and 
the  doubt  and  distrust  engendered  ia 
his  mind  then  had  not  disappeared. 

This  came  to  him  forcibly  the  next 
night  in  the  shape  of  an  attack  upon  the 
camp  by  a  rebel  company,  the  fii'st  since 
the  detection  of  Sandy's  traitorous  prac- 
tices. 

Though  he  was  far  from  accusing  thb 
unknown  person  wiiom  he  had  seen  in 
the  colonel's  tent  of  causing  this  attack, 
he  thought  it  not  improbable  that  he 
had  something  to  do  with  it. 

George  would  have  spoken  to  his  com- 
mander about  the  fidelity  of  the  scout, 
could  he  have  done  so  with  uny  pro- 
priety, but  he  knew  exactly  to  what 
lengths  inferiors  can  go  with  their  su- 
periors, and  discreetly  lield  his  peace. 

He  had  just  returned  from  a  thirty- 
mile  ride  one  morning,  and  at  ten  o'clock 
was  eating  his  long  postponed  breakfast, 
when  he  observed  several  of  the  most 
trustworthy  troops  spring  to  their  feet 
and  rush  for  their  arms. 

The  cause  of  this  sudden  movement 
was  the  appearance  at  the  edge  of  the 
woods  of  a  horse  and  rider  coming  to- 
ward them. 

In  a  few  seconds  the  men,  who  had 
drawn  theujselves  up,  laid  aside  their 
guns  with  a  sheepish  look,  for  thej'  per- 
ceived upon  the  nearer  approacii  that 
the  rider  of  the  horse  was  a  female. 

She  came  on  at  a  furious  pace,  and 
never  drew  rein  until  within  a  few  feet  of 
the  musketeers. 

George,  who  happened  to  be  the  only 
officer  in  the  camp  at  the  time,  advanced 
towartl  her. 

"Oh,  sir,''  she  exclaimed,  as  soon  as 
she  caught  her  breath,  "  a  party  of  Con- 
federate soldiers  are  about  to  bdra  down 


LIEUTENANT  GEORGE. 


18 


our  house,  and  I  implore  you,  if  you  have 
any  pity,  to  come  and  rescue  my  father 
and  mother,  who  both  are  sick,  from 
them." 

George  being  left  in  charge  of  the  camp, 
with  only  a  few  followers,  could  not, 
without  a  break  of  discipline,  couiply 
with  this  request. 

The  colonel  was  fully  a  mile  away,  giv- 
ing some  matters  his  personal  supervision, 
and  at  least  his  permission  must  be 
gained  before  any  move  could  be  made. 

"1  beseech  you,  sir,  make  haste,"  the 
maiden  cried,  observing  him  hesifate. 
"I  beg  of  you  make  up  your  mind 
whether  you  will  undertake  this  expe- 
dition of  mercy,  otherwise  I  must  look 
elsewhere  for  succor." 

George  immediately  despatched  an  or- 
derly for  the  colonel's  permission,  on  his 
own  horse,  which  was  the  fleetest  in  the 
company,  then  turning  to  the  young 
lady,  whose  eyes  were  full  of  tears  with 
vexation  at  the  delay  she  could  not  un- 
derstand the  necessity  for,  he  said: 

"  Madam,  the  only  reason  why  I  do  not 
instantly  accompany  you  is  that  I  h?^ve 
been  left  in  charge  of  this  body  of  men 
you  see  here,  and  I  must  have  permission 
before  I  can  stir  from  the  spot.  I  have 
just  now  sent  to  my  commanding  officer, 
and  I  hope  to  be  at  your  service  in  five 
minutes." 

The  girl  wrung  her  hands  in  anguish  of 
mind,  but  made  no  reply,  and  George,  to 
enable  her  to  pass  the  time  in  less  sus- 
pense, asked  her  where  her  father's  house 
was,  and  what  number  of  rebels  had  at- 
tacked it. 

From  her  rapid  but  clear  description 
he  recognized  the  house  to  be  one  whose 
situation  he  had  often  admired. 

Though  a  Unionist,  Ur.  Adams,  whom 
George  knew  to  be  the  owner  of  the 
place,  had  been  left  undisturbed  in  his 
house  more  probably  from  inadvertence 
than  from  design.  Himself  and  his  wife 
being  invalids  lived  in  seclusion  and  hap- 
piness with  their  only  daughter,  Clara, 
until  this  very  day,  wlien  the  house  was 
entered  by  a  body  of  Confederate  sol- 
diery and  ordered  burned,  as  the  prop- 
erty of  a  traitor  to  the  cause  of  the  South- 
ern States. 

By  the  time  she  had  finished,  the  or- 
derly dashed  up  covered  with  dust  from 
his  rapid  ride,  and  conveyed  the  desired 
order  to  George. 

Swinging  himself  into  the  saddle,  he 
cried  oat  to  the  men  whom  he  had  mean- 
while drawn  up  preparatory  to  moving 
at  any  minute: 

"  Boj's,  we're  going  to  save  this  young 
lady's  house  from  being  burned  down  by 
the  rebels.  Brace  yourself  for  some  fierce 
fighting." 


A  hurra  was  the  only  answer  from  the 
fifty  Olid  throats,  and  the  cavalcade 
started  off  at  a  ten-mile  gait,  with  George 
at  their  head  and  Miss  Adams  at  his  side 
to  act  as  guide. 

George  knew,  or  tliought  he  did,  all 
the  .roads  leading  to  Dr.  Adams',  but  be- 
fore they  had  gone  two  miles  he  was 
shown  his  mistake. 

"Do  you  know  the  nearest  way  lieu — 
lieutenant.''  Aren't  you  a  lieutenant, 
sir?"  and  a  faint  smile  crossed  her  face  as 
she  asked  the  question. 

"  I  am  a  first  lieutenant  in  the  United 
States  Army,  Miss  Adams."  rephed 
George,  with  a  smile,  thinking  at  the 
moment  what  a  beautiful  face  Miss 
Adams  had.  "  I  think  the  nearest  way 
to  reach  the  house  .will  be  by  Roaring  , 
Creek  bridge." 

"  Oh,  no,  lieutenant,"  she  cried,  eagerly, 
then  feeling  that  she  had  been  impolite 
in  her  readj'  contradiction  she  added: 
"Excuse  me,  sir,  but  I  am  certain  that  I 
know  a  road  that  cuts  off  at  least  a  mile 
from  the  distance." 

George  was  so  sure  that  he  knew  the 
wdiole  country  so  well  that  a  short  road, 
like  one  of  which  she  spoke,  could  not  be 
unknown  to  him,  therefore  he  smiled  in- 
credulously to  himself. 

"Did  j'ou  never  notice,  sir."  Miss 
Adams  went  on,  "what  a  roundabout 
curve  the  Roaring  Creek  road  is?" 

"But  it  is  not  so  roundabout  as  the 
Buffalo  cross  roads,"  replied  George. 

"I  can  see,  lieutenant,''  replied  she, 
demurelj',  "  that  you  are  not  very  well 
acquainted  with  this  part  of  the  country." 

"  Indeed,  Miss  Adams,  I  should  feel 
much  ashamed  of  myself  if  I  did  not 
know  this  part  of  the  countrj-  thor- 
oughly," he  returned,  so  gravely  that  she 
thought  she  had  offended  him. 

"Pardon  me,  lieutenant,  if  I  have  said 
anything  that  I  ought  not.  but  here  is 
the  road  of  which  I  speak,"  and  she 
pointed  to  a  narrow  path,  much  similar 
to  That  b}'  which  George  had  tracked 
Sandv  McCo&h  to  the  rebel  rendezvous. 

"  Does  this  lead  to  your  father's  house. 
Miss  Adams?"  asked  George  of  her  in  sur- 
prise. 

"Indeed  it  does,  sir,"  she  replied,  "and 
almost  in  a  straight  line." 

The  path  was  much  moi'e  open  thau 
the  one  which  George  had  traversed  be- 
fore, and  consequently  the  troop  was  able 
to  proceed  as  rapidly  as  if  on  the  main 
road. 

The  order  was  given,  and  the  mea 
broke  into  single  file  and  started  on 
again. 

"  Miss  Adams,"  said  George,  when  they 
were  enabled  to  ride  side  by  side  again, 
"in  bringing  this  road  to  my  attentioa 


14 


LIEUTENANT  GEORGE. 


you  have  done  me  a  gr^at  favor,    and   I 
thank,  you  for  it  luost  heartily.'' 

She  looked  at  hiiu  a  moment  in  sur- 
prise, and  then  said: 

"  How,  sir?    I  do  not  understand  you." 

"I  am  not  doing  regular  but  special 
duty  in  the  army,  and  it  is  important 
when  1  am  sent  places  for  me  to  be  able 
to  come  and  ^o  by  the  shortest  and  most 
direct  routes,"  said  George,  in  explana- 
tion. 

"You  are  a  scout,  in  plain  language, 
lieutenant." 

"  You  seem  to  be  conversant  with  army 
terms,  Miss  Adams,"  he  replied,  evasivelj. 

"Yes,"  she  replied;  "did  you  not  no- 
tice how  soon  1  recognized  you  as  a  lieu- 
tenant?" 

"  I  confess  I  noticed  it  at  the  time,  but 
I  hope  you  will  not  repeat  that  I  am  a 
scout  to  anybody.  To  be  able  to  pro- 
ceed unknown  is  worth  almost  more  than 
anything  else  in  that  kind  of  duty,"  was 
George's  answer. 

"You  may  depend  upon  me  to  say 
nothing  on  the  subject  except  by  your 
leave,"  she  rejoined.  "We  are  quite 
near  the  house,  and  there,"  she  gave  a 
slight  scream,  "see  the  smoke.  They 
must  have  alrea,dy  set  tire  to  it,"  and  she 
was  about  to  urge  her  horse  forward 
when  George  laid  his  hand  on  the  bridle. 

After  assuring  her  that  she  could  do 
nothing  to  aid  her  parents,  and  would  be 
only  likely  to  get  herself  wounded  in  ac- 
companying the  troops  any  further,  she 
was  persuaded  to  go  to  the  rear. 

Pulling  his  sword  fi-om  the  scabbard, 
George  dashed  forward,  followed  by  his 
men. 

The  smoke  was  only  beginning  to  issue 
from  the  windows  of  the  first  story,  and 
from  the  number  of  riderless  horses  in 
charge  of  one  or  two  men  it  was  known 
that  the  rebels  were  inside  the  house. 

Those  in  charge  of  the  horses  instantly 
shouted  the  alarm  to  their  comrades 
within,  and  then  springing  each  on  a 
horse,  fled  from  the  spot  with  the  speed 
of  the  wind. 

Never  slackening  their  headlong  gait 
till  they  reached  the  door,  George  and 
his  followers  flung  themselves  into  the 
house. 

Guided  by  the  sounds  of  crashing 
crockery  and  glassware,  and  of  breaking 
furniture,  they  went  on  till  they  reached 
the  dining-room,  which  was  full  of  Con- 
federate soldiers. 

With  a  wild  yell  the  latter  recognized 
the  new-comers  to  be  their  enemies,  and 
both  rushed  upon  each  other,  discharg- 
ing pistols  and  whirling  sabers  in  the 
most  Indiscriminata  fashion. 

The  bodies  were  about  evenly  matched, 
and  the  result  was    for   some    minutes 


doubtful,  but  at  length  dismayed  by  the  ' 
death  of  their  leader,  who  fell  in  a  sword 
conte.''t  with  George,  the  Confederates 
were  driven  out  the  back  way  through 
the  kitchen,  where  they  would  all  have 
been  taken  prisoners  had  not  George 
ordered  his  men  to  put  out  the  fire  at 
once. 

Thus  the  rebels  were  left  to  escape  on 
foot,   their    horses    having   been   driven       : 
away  by  the  mad  charge  of  Uncle  Sam's  * 
men.  5' 

Meanwhile,  George  and  his  soldiers 
were  gallantly  combating  the  flauies, 
fires  having  been  kindled  in  several 
rooms  by  their  enemies. 

Table  linen  served  as  kindling  for  one 
fire,  and  the  flames  catching  on  the  heavy 
carpet  bade  fair  to  defy  the  efforts  of  the 
men. 

At  length,  after  twenty  minutes  hard 
work,  the  last  bucket  of  Jivater  from  the 
well  in  the  yard  W7is  cast  on  the  floor  and 
the  fire  was  extinguished. 

They  next  turned  their  attention  to 
searching  for  the  old  doctor  and  his  wife, 
and  a  murmur  of  indignation  rose  from 
the  men  when  they  beneld  the  old  maa 
stretched  on  a  bed  in -the  yard.  The 
rebels  had  carried  his  bed  from  the  upper 
story,  and  then  brought  Mrs.  Adams 
down  in  the  same  manner. 

What  the  rebels  had  intended  to  do 
with  them  after  destroying  the  house 
cannot  be  conjectured. 

According  to  t)ie  request  of  Miss  Adams, 
who  stayed  in  the  rear  only  till  the  others 
had  entered  the  house,  her  mother  and 
father  were  carried  carefully  up  to  their 
rooms,  and  then  the  men  set  about  re- 
pairing the  mischief  done  to  the  house. 

They  could  not  repair  the  raviiges  of  the 
fire,  but  they  carried  out  from  the  din- 
ing-room several  dead  bodies,  including 
three  of  their  own  number,  and  buried 
tliem  clo.'^e  to  the  edge  of  the  forest. 

While  they  were  thus  engaged  George 
was  thinking  seriously  how  to  make  ar- 
rangements for  the  best  interests  of  the 
house  and  its  inmates.  If  the  rebels  who 
attacked  it  were  a  roving  party  he  had 
no  fears  of  their  returning  after  the 
severe  handling  they  had  received,  but  if 
they  had  received  orders  to  destroy  the 
house,  they  would  undoubtedly  return 
with  a  larger  force  to  do  the  work. 

It  was  plain  that  he  could  not  save  the 
house  with  his  small  force  if  this  latter 
svipposltion  were,  true,  so  he  decided, 
withou'lfctelling  Miss  Adams  of  hi*  fears, 
to  proceed  back  to  headquarters  at  once 
and  let  the  coloMt'l  know  how  matters 
stood,  hoping  in  his  heart  that  he  would 
be  sent  back  with  instiuctions  to  guard 
the  house  until  the  immediate  danger  of 
its  destructioa  be  passed. 


LIEUTENANT  GEORr:}E. 


15 


CHAPTER  VI. 

AMBL'SIIKU. 

As  George,  in  pursuance  of  this  design, 
had  called  his  men  together  and  was 
about  to  give  the  order  to  go  forward. 
Miss  Adauis,  who  had  only  a  luoujent  be- 
fore entered  the  hou^^e,  now  came  to  him 
and  said; 

"Lieutenant,  my  father  and  mother 
feel  deeply  your  kindness  in  coniiug  to 
their  rescue,  and  though  they  are  both 
too  much  disturbed  by  the  recent  com- 
motion to  see  you  just  now,  they  hope 
you  will  give  them  an  opportunity  to 
hiank  you  in  person."'  / 

"  I  am  very  glad  to  have  been  able  to 
serve  you  and  your  parents,  Miss  Adams," 
replied  George,  "but  I  need  iio  thanks 
for  doing  what ,  I  should  have'  done  for 
any  persons  who  had  the  misfortune  to 
be  placed  in  the  s;>me  circumstances." 

"My  parents  will  feel  it,  lieutenant," 
ehe  said,  "if  you  do  not  give  them  an  op- 
portunity of  doing  what  will  be  to  them 
H  pleasure.  You  will  be  doing  me  a.  great 
favor  if  you  can  sacrifice  your  feelings 
sufficiently  to  do  as  they  wisli." 

"  Miss  Adams,  you  misumlerstand  me," 
returned  George  eagerly,  pained  at  her 
quiet  rebuke  of  his  seeming  stubborn- 
ness.    "I    will  do  as   you  say "'  and 

giving  her  a  salute  he   rode  off,  followed 
by  his  little  band. 

He  was  anxious  to  get  out  of  the  neigh- 
borhood as  quickly  a&  possible,  for  he 
feared  the  f^scaped  rebels  would  bring 
down  upon  him  an  overv/helming  force, 
to  wliich  for  the  sake  of  his  men  he  woukl 
be  compelled  to  surrender.  If  he  had 
felt  tluit  he  would  not  be  overstepping 
the  bounds  of  his  authority  he  would  liave 
remained  at  the  house  till  the  next  day. 
H6-A\'as  sure  he  could  have  held  it  against 
a  larga  f orce  of  the  enemy  uidess  they 
brought  artillery  ty  bear  upon  it,  which, 
considering  the  irftuation  of  their  army 
at  the  time,  was  highly  improbable. 

His  party  was  now  aouut  a  mile  from 
the  Adauis  mansion,  and  as  they  were 
riding  along  a  narrow  portion  of  the  road, 
"which  was  thickly  wooded  qn  both  sides, 
they  were  fii-ed  at  from  each  flank,  ayd  a 
body  of  Confederate  cavalry  which  were 
concealed  ia  ambush  rushed  upon  them. 

Though    astonished     at    the    sudden- 
ness of  the  attack,  which  was  a  complete 
i  surprise,  George  quickly  rallied  liis  men 
^'-around  him  and  ciiarged  the  body  which 
i  "was  on  the  right. 

£      Being  attacked   when    they    expected 

only  to  attack  caused  the  rebels  to  fall 

l)ack  a  few  rods,  but   as  each  of  their 

i  l)odies  singly  outnumbered  George's,  they 

*■   Came  on  again,  with  yells  of  excitement 

and  rage. 


Wljjrling  his  sword  over  his  head 
George  shouteil  a  few  words  to  his  nien, 
telling  them  what  they  would  have  to 
expect  if  they  allowed  themselves  to  fall 
into  the  hands  of  their  enemies;  then 
si)urring  forward  he  met  their  assailants, 
wdio  had  consolidated  into  one  body,  all 
determining  to  break  through  the  oppos- 
ing line  or  perish  in  the  attempt. 

The  Confederates  were  led  by  a  captain, 
and  George  could  see  through  the  dust 
and  smoke  that  he  looked  somewhat  fa- 
nuliar.  He  had  ample  opportunity  for 
closer  inspection,  for  the  two  came  to- 
gether and  crossed  swords  in  an  instant. 

Geoi-ge  had  paid  a  great  deal  of  atten- 
tion to  the  art  of  fencing,  and  though  he 
had  not,  as  many  others  in  the  army, 
been  pupils  to  any  great  lencing-master, 
he  was  considered  one  of  the  most  expert 
swordsmen  in  the  \V est.  It  was  no  un- 
common thing  for  him  to  send  his  an- 
tagonist's sword  flying  through  the  air, 
nearly  wrenching  oti'  his  arm  by  the 
strength  of  the  sweep. 

The  average  Northerner  was  far  behind 
the  Southern  gentleman  in  feats  of  arms, 
and  particularly  did  the  latter  excel  in 
the  use  of  the  sword. 

One  of  the  r-easons  for  this  was  that  every 
gentleman  in  the  North  was  engaged  in 
some  kind  of  business,  while  those  of  the 
South  left  the  management  of  their  af- 
faii's  in  the  hands  of  a  steward,  usitally 
one  of  their  slaves,  »vhde  they  themselves 
spent  their  time  in  visiting  and  enter- 
taining their  friends,  at  the  same  time 
devoting  much  time  to  athletic  pursuits, 
among  which  figured  prominently  that 
of  fencing. 

When  George  closed  in  with  the  rebel 
captain  he  realized  that  he  must  hghc 
and  tinish  quickly,  as  he  ditl  not  suppose 
his  men  could  withstand  the  superior 
numbers  of  the  enemy  many  minutes. 

As  soon  as  he  had  a  full  and  unob- 
structed view  of  his  antagonist's  face  ha 
started;  he  recognized  him  to  be  the 
same  man  whom  he  had  seen  in  the 
stone  house. 

"1  could  make  him  jump  by  telling 
liim  I  overheard  his  whole  talk  with  that 
sleeli-lookiug  man,"  thought  George  as 
their  sabers  flew  through  the  air. 

'•I  wonder,"  he  went  on  to  himself,  "  if 
the  other  one  ever  got  that  paper  he  so 
cleverly  stuck  into  the  desk  right  before 
this  z'ebel's  eyes." 

His  reflections  were  interrupted  here 
by  the  captain  redoubling  his  efforts  to 
break  through  our  hero's  guard,  and  the 
I  arer  now  aildiessedhimself  tothe  taskof 
ciisarming  his  antagonist  as  soon  as 
possible. 

All  this  passed  in  about  one  or  two 
minutes,  and    tlie    fight    was    going    oa 


16 


LIEUTENANT  GEORGE. 


fiercely  all  around  the  pair  of  swords- 
men! 

Pistol-balls  were  flying  in  all  directions, 
and  the  handful  of  boys  in  blue  were 
making  the  most  determined  stand  by 
their  young  commander. 

Already  riderless  horses  were  to  be 
seen  everywhere,  and  the  narrow  road 
was  getting  thickly  strewn  with  dead 
and  wounded. 

In  a  few  minutes  George's  men  were 
driven  to  one  side  of  the  road,  where  they 
sought  shelter  behind  a  worm-fence 
whence  they  poured  a  fire  so  deadly  into 
their  enemy's  faces  that  they  fell  back  a 
few  moments,  and  the  Unionists  with  a 
loud  cheer  of  triumph  pressed  forward. 

This  act  of  bravado  cost  them  the 
victory,  for  had  they  remained  behind 
the  breastwork  of  fence  they  might  have 
been  able  to  repulse  the  rebels  again  and 
again,  or  at  least  till  their  numbers  be- 
came in  a  measure  equal.  But  no  sooner 
did  they  come  forward  than  they  were 
surrounded  and  the  skirmish  became  a 
furious  hand-to-hand  conflict. 

The  captain  and  George  soon  found 
they  were  pretty  evenly  matched,  neither 
having  been  able  to  break  or  penetrate 
the  other's  guard. 

However,  when  George  heard  the  cheer 
of  his  men  he  prepared  to  make  his 
greatest  effort,  but  as  he  leaned  forward 
his  horse  tottered  under  him,  shot  by  a 
pistol- ball. 

The  whole  troop  passed  over  him,  and 
just  as  he  made  an  effort  to  rise  a  terrible 
blow  on  the  head  stretchetl  him  uncon- 
scious on  the  ground. 

His  men,  who  had  fought  most  gal- 
lantly while  he  led  them,  were,  as  is  often 
the  case  when  the  governing  hand  is  re- 
moved, panic  stricken  at  his  fall,  and  the 
body,  now  reduced  to  a  mere  handful, 
scampered  off  at  the  top  of  tlieir  horses' 
speed,  leaving  their  fallen  leader  in  the 
hands  of  his  enemies. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

CAPTURE   AND   ESCAPE. 

When  George  recovered  consciousness 
he  found  himself  lying  on  thegrasa under 
a  tree  whicli  grew  close  to  a  rapidly  run- 
ning brook.  Two  of  his  troop  were  close 
by  him,  closely  guarded  by  a  rebel  sol- 
dier, who  liad  evidently  been  placed  there. 

A  little  further  down  the  bank  of  the 
brook,  where  the  trees  grew  more  tiiickly, 
the  rebels  had  halted  and  were  taking 
some  refreshment,  though  it  was  far  past 
the  hour  of  noon. 

As  George  raised  himself  from  the 
ground  to  look  for  his  late  antagoinst, 
the  rebel  captain,   he  felt   a  sharp   pain 


shoot  through  his  left  shoulder,  and  he 
fell  back  upon  the  grass,  realizing  too 
truly  by  his  present  ^^ituation  how  tha 
late  skirmish  had  terminated.  Aj 

As  his  thoughts  were  none  of  the  pleas-  W 
antest,  he  resolved  to  question  one  of  his 
com  [)a.ii ions,  botli  of  whom  he  noticed 
were  regarding  him  earnestly,  as  if  they 
looked  upon  his  return  to  consciousness 
with  the  greatest  satisfaction. 

"l^Iike,"  he  said,  to  one  whose  very  ap- 
pearance betokened  that  he  had  come 
from  the  Emerald  Isle,  "how  is  it  that 
we  are  making  camp  with  the  rebels?" 

"  Och,  leftenant,"  replied  Mike,  pulling 
his  forelock  respectfully,  "I'm  moighty 
glad  yez  have  come  to,  seein'  yez  hev  bin 
layin'  there  dead-like  fer  about  an  hour; 
but  as  to  yer  honor's  question,  sure  we're 
doing  the  spalpeens  o'  rebels  no  good  by 
layin'  on  the  ground,  or  harm  either,  aa 
fur  as  I  can  see." 

"Where  are  all  the  rest  of  our  men?" 
inquired  George.  "Aren't  you  two  the 
only  ones  here,  or  have  they  taken  some 
awav  to  prison  alreadyf 

"Those  as  could  run  away  as  fast  as 
they  could  as  soon  as  you  fell  under,  and 
as  me  an'  Jake,  here,  couldn't  git  away, 
bein'  hemmed  in  on  all  sides  by  the  var- 
mints, we  graceful-like  handed  ourselvey 
over,  havin'  no  shootin'-irons  or  any- 
thing else  to  fight  with." 

Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  his  men's 
retreat  was  the  primary  cause  of  his  be- 
ing a  prisoner,  George  was  secretly  re- 
joiced that  tliey  had  escaped  without  the 
entire  body  being  killed. 

He  was  very  much  afraid  that  the  col- 
onel would  hold  him  responsible  for  hav- 
ing caused  the  death  of  a  number  of  the 
best  soldiers  of  his  troop,  and  this  was 
something  that  a  person  of  George's 
proud  feelings  could  not  bear  to  think  of. 

He  felt  perfectly  justified  in  reporting 
the  loss  wliich  the  troop  sustained  in  sav- 
ing tlie  family  and  property  of  Dr.  Adams 
from  the  destructive  malice  of  the  Con- 
federate soldiers,  but  he  could  not  look 
upon  the  last  fray  in  the  same  light. 

In  that  instance  he  had  allowed  his 
troop  to  be  surprised  by  a  much  superior 
force  of  the  enemy,  and  how  badly  his 
party  had  suffered  he  could  only  conjec- 
ture, as  he  had  not  an  idea  that  the  two 
men  who  were  prisoners  with  him  could 
give  any  correct  statement  of  the  loss. 

"Mike,"  he  said,  turning  suddenly  to 
that  worth}%  "did  we  come  here  directly 
after  the  fight,  or  did  the  rebels  go  and 
fire  the  house  we  saved  this  morning?" 

"  No,  leftenant,  we  come  here-away  at 
onet,  and  sure  we've  been  here  ever  since, 
and  will  be,"  he  added,  dropping  his 
voice,  " 'till  to-night." 

The  sentinel  who  was  guardiug  them 


LIEUTENANT  GEORGE. 


17 


now  approached  and  said  he  was  ordered 
to  permit  no  conversation  to  pass  be- 
tween the  prisoners,  and  that  if  they  in- 
sisted upon  talkintj  he  would  be  compel- 
led to  separate  them. 

For  some  time  after  this  nothing  was 
said,  but  at  length  George,  with  a  start 
©f  surprise,  saw  the  captain  come  toward 
him. 

He  stopped,  however,  when  he  reached 
the  guard  and  talked  with  him  some 
minutes. 

George  watched  him  a  few  minutes, 
thinking  to  himself  what  a  gloomy  man 
he  must  be,  and  wondering  what  secret 
there  was  between  him  and  the  little  fat 
man. 

"  I  suppose  that  fat  fellow  went  back 
to  the  house  and  took  the  papers  that  he 
was  so  anxious  the  captain  should  not  see. 
It  must  have  been  of  considerable  value 
to  the  captain,  too,  or  he  would  not  have 
made  such  threats  against  the  other." 

George  ruminated  on  this  subject  until 
long  after  the  captain  left  the  spot,  and 
his  thoughts  led  on — diverged  into  an- 
other channel — that  of  the  famous  Con- 
federate spy. 

He  still  had  the  tell-tale  note,  which  he 
believed  was  written  by  this  person,  and 
be  hoped  to  be  present  at  the  meeting  of 
which  it  spoke. 

He  discovered  long  before  this  time 
that  his  wounds  were  mere  trifles,  and 
amounted  to  nothing  beyond  a  sore 
ehoulder  and  the  lump  on  his  head,  in- 
flicted by  something  heavy  enough  to 
deprive  him  of  his  senses  for  a  time. 

Night  at  length  drew  on,  and  he  noticed 
with  some  surprise  that  the  rebels 
showed  no  signs  of  moving  from  the 
spot. 

It  was  unusual  for  so  small  a  body  to 
encamp  so  far  from  the  army  lines,  and 
he  could  not  see  what  they  should  gain 
by  remaining  where  they  were. 

About  dark  the  guard  was  relieved  and 
the  new  sentry  took  his  stand  about 
twenty  feet  from  the  three  prisoners,  ar- 
ranging his  beat  so  that  he  could  detect 
their  slightest  movement  the  instant  it 
was  made. 

The  fact  that  at  no  time  was  his  back 
directly  toward  them  made  attempts  to 
escape  doubh^  hazardous. 

Willie  George  was  thinking  of  some 
way  to  turn  this  fact  to  his  own  advan- 
tage he  was  startled  at  hearing  a  light 
footstep  behind  the  tree  against  which 
he  leaned. 

Listening  a  moment  and  not  hearing 
anything,  he  was  about  to  conclude  that 
he  had  mistaken  the  sound,  when  a  voice 
close  to  his  ear  whispered: 

"^hen  the  sentinel  moves  away  run 
Into  the  woods  with   your  comoanions." 


Before  he  could  recover  from  his  aston- 
ishment he  heard  the  light  footsteps 
growing  fainter  as  they  receded  from  the 
tree. 

He  certainly  could  not  be  mistaken  in 
that  voice;  the  owner  of  it  was  evidently 
about  to  aid  him  to  escape  in  some  way, 
though  how  he  had  not  the  most  remote 
idea. 

Things  might  turn  out  better  than  be 
expected. 

His  two  companions  were  talking  to 
each  other  in  whispers,  in  entire  igno- 
rance of  what  had  just  passed  near  them, 
and  he  feared  to  tell  them  anything  lest 
it  might  attract  the  guaru's  attention. 

It  was  scarcelj-  more  than  a  minute 
later  when  the  clatter  of  hoofs  was  heard 
and  a  horse  dashed  up,  mounted  by  a 
girhsh  figure,  whom  George  instantly 
recognized  as  Miss  Adams. 

She  stopped  her  hurse  about  midway 
between  the  main  body  of  Confederates 
and  their  prisoners,  crying  out: 

*' Be  on  your  guard!  There  is  a  large 
body  of  Yankee  soldiers  coming  down 
upon  you!    They  are  right  behind  mel" 

Her  sudden  appearance  created  the 
greatest  disturbance  in  the  camp,  and 
the  sentinel,  the  instant  she  appeared, 
directed  his  musket  at  her,  thereby  giv- 
ing George  and  his  companions  the  op- 
portunity they  desired. 

They  sprung  across  the  brook  and  into 
the  bushes  on  the  other  side  just  as  their 
guard  turned  to  make  sure  they  did  not 
take  advantage  of  the  confusion  and 
escape. 

He  perceived  that  he  was  too  late,  but 
he  sent  a  bullet  after  them  which  whizzed 
so  close  to  Mike's  head  that  it  took  a  lock 
of  hair  along  with  it. 

Springing  over  the  brook  with  three 
or  four  soldiers,  they  attempted  pursuit, 
but  George,  being  intimately  acquainted 
with  the  country,  led  his  men  quickly 
out  of  their  reach. 

After  going  about  a  mile  Mike,  on 
whom  the  rapid  run  was  a  sweater, 
asked  to  sit  down  on  a  fallen  tree  to  rest, 
and  George  feeling  perfectly  secure, 
made  no  protest. 

The  rebel  band  stood  by  the  camp 
until  they  ascertained  that  the  opposing 
ti'oop  was  much  too  strong  for  them, 
then  retired  within  the  protection  of 
their  own  army  some  miles  to  the  south. 


CHAPTEK  VIII. 

PURSUED   BY   A  BLOODHOUND. 

After  giving  Mike  sufficient  time  to  re- 
cover, George  decided  to  make  their  way 
to  headquarters  as  soon  as  possible. 

Notwithstanding  that  it  was  night,  and 


18 


LIEUTENANT  GEORGE. 


a  dark  night,  too,  he  was  sure  that  it 
would  not  take  theui  much  above  two 
hours  to  reach  tlje  end  of  their  journey, 
but  he  found  before  going  very  far  tliat 
"there's  many  a  slip  'twixt  cup  and  Hp." 

They  were  moving  along  at  a  rapid 
walk  when  he  saw,  upon  ascending  a 
little  hill,  a  bright  fire  burning  down  in 
a  ravine  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  away. 

"There's  something  that  must  be 
looked  to,"  he  muttered  to  himself;  and 
ordering  his  companions  to  await  hiiu 
where  they  were,  he  turned  ofT  to  see 
who  was  passing  the  night  in  the  middle 
of  the  forest. 

As  lie  approached  the  fire  he  noticed 
that  the  spot  was  hemmed  in  on  all  sides 
and  that  the  light  was  only  visible  from 
the  depths  of  the  forest. 

If  he  had  passed  on  the  otlier  side  of  it 
he  would  not  have  seen  it  at  all. 

Toward  the  bottom  of  the  ravine  the 
ground  grew  marshy,  and  some  places  he 
stepped  almost  up  to  his  knees  into  the 
water. 

"  I  can't  understand  what  men  want  in 
such  a  liole  as  this,"  he  muttered.  "I 
wonder  if  this  is  Canebrake  Marsh? 
Gravcoat  has  a  safe  olace  to  hide  in  if 
it  is."" 

When  he  approached  within  fifty  feet 
of  the  fire  he  saw  it  was  the  camp  of  a 
party  of  guerrillas. 

They  liad  evidently  returned  from  a 
marauding  expedition,  as  George  noted 
several  wine-bottles  lying  on  the  ground. 

There  were  only  twelve  men  in  the 
party,  at  least  that  was  all  tliere  were  to 
be  seen,, 'and  as  it  was  unusual  for  so  few 
to  compose  a  band  George  suspected 
there  were  more  elsewhere. 

A  few  minutes  later  the  truth  of  this 
conjecture  was  realized,  for  he  saw  three 
men,  whom  he  had  not  seen  before,  stride 
up  to  the  fire,  the  one  being  led  by  the 
other  two. 

"  He  says  he's  got  no  money,  an'  has 
nary  chance  of  ever  gettin'any,  so  I  guess 
we'll  have  to  turn  him  over  to  the  au- 
thorities." 

This  was  said  by  one  of  those  who  had 
hold  of  the  arm  of  the  third  man,  who 
was  evidently  a  prisoner  and  it  cau.sed 
George  to  look  more  attentively  at  the 
latter. 

What  was  his  surprise  and  regret  to 
recognize  the  officer  with  whom  he  had 
ridden  from  the  stone  house  on  the  night 
he  overheard  tJie  conversation  between 
the  rebel  cai)tain  and  the  littk   fat  man. 

The  guerrillas  had  evidently  waylaid 
him  while  unaccompanied  by  au  escort, 
and  captured  him  for  the  purpose  of  ex- 
torting from  him  a  ransom  for  his  release. 

What  had  led  the  robbers  to  believe 
the  officer  to  be  a  wealthy  man   he  had 


not  an  idea.,  but  he  did  not  doubt  that 
such  au  occurrence  must  have  put  Ins 
f rienr'-into  a  most  unenviable  frame  of 
mind.  His  attention  was  aj^^ain  drawn  to 
the  lire  by  theguerrillachief  endeavoring 
to  draw  the  officer  out  in  regard  to  his 
private  financial  affairs. 

"  You  needn't  try  to  make  me  believe 
that  j'ou  iiaven't  no  money,  now  liank," 
he  said,  decidedly,  "'cause  I  know  a  great 
sight  better." 

-"Well,  tiien,  don't  believe  it,"  replied 
George's  friend,  shortly. 

"  Siio,  now,''  replied  the  chief,  coolly. 
"You  needn't  git  your  back  up,  'cause  it 
won't  be  no  arthlv  use  to  you  or  harm  to 
us." 

The  Union  officer's  only  answer  was  a 
disdainful  smile. 

"•  You'd  better  own  up  like  a  man, 
major,"  went  on  the  guerrilla  chief,  re- 
flectively, "'cause  we  mean  all  we  say  an' 
we  don't  let  anybody  livin'  or  dead  pull 
the  wool  o'  deceit  over  our  eyes." 

He  looked  up  to  see  what  effect  this 
elaborate  speech  had  upon  his  prisoner, 
and  then  continued. 

"  1  know  all  about  a  hull  railroad  that 
you  own,  all  by  your  lone,  up  North, 
that's  ten  mile  long,  lettiu'  alone  all  the 
gold  mines  and  other  things  of  that  kid- 
ney that  is  yours  out  West.  Ha!  now 
your  beginnin'  to  wilt,"'  he  added,  tri- 
umphantly, as  he  saw  the  major's  eyes 
open  wider  and  wider  as  he  went  on. 
"  Mebbe  you  thought  I  didn't  know  what 
I  was  talking  about,  but  you'll  find  after 
a  while  that  your  Yankee  country  don't 
hold  all  the  brains  of  this  land,  by  no 
.manner  of  means." 

As  the  major's  expression  continued 
one  of  rapt  amazement  he  asked: 

"  What  do  you  think  o'  my  findin'  you 
out,  major?" 

This  question  seemed  to  bring'  the  lat- 
ter to  his  senses,  and  he  burst  into  a  peal 
of  laughter,  which  was  so  violent  that  it 
threatened  to  overset  him  on  theground. 

It  was  the  guerrilla's  chief  turn  to  look 
askau'ce  now,  and  at  length  he  said: 

"  I'm  glad  that  my  words  have  put  you 
into  a  better  humor  than  you  were  be- 
fore." 

By  this  time  the  major  had  in  a  meas- 
ure recovered"  himself,  and  he  answered 
soberly: 

"  My  dear  sir,  I  am  very  much  obliged 
to  you  for  telling  me  how  much  I  am 
worth.  Really,  I  never  knew  anything 
about  my  railroads  and  gold  mines  until 
J'OU  had  the  kindness  to  «"ell  me  of  them." 

"Don't  try   to   bluff  me,  major,"  said 
the  chief,  his  wrath    beginning   to  rise; 
"remember,  I  don't  allow  no  wool  on  my 
eyes." 
.    "Well,  all  I  can  say  is  that  the  fellow 


LIEUTENANT  GEORGE. 


19 


who  told  you  about  my  immense  prop- 
erty laid  the  wool  ou  your  eyes,  as  you 
call  it,  about  as  neatly  as  I've  heard  of 
lor  a  long  time,  and  it  is  there  yet.  You 
mis:ht  as  well  know  first  as  last  that  i 
have  nothing  but  my  salary  as  a  major 
in  the  army  of  the  United  States,  and  if 
you  can  find  any  gold  mines  or  railroads 
in  the  North  that  belong  to  me  you  are 
welcome  to  them  as  a  gift.  You  have 
been  badly  taken  in.  my  friend,  and  as  for 
a  ransom  you  may  sink  me  into  the  mire 
of  Libby  Prison  before  you  can  get  any 
out  of  me.  Thafs  how  the  matter  stands, 
and  you'll  have  to  make  your  decision  on 
ittromtluit  point.'* 

Nothing  could  exceed  the  rage  of  the 
baffled  guerrilla  chief  upon  hearing  these 
words.  He  jumped  from  the  ground  and 
knocked  his  heels  together,  yelling  and 
shouting  like  a  maniac.  His  men,  to 
wliom  he  was  evidently  unpleasant  when 
aroused,  watched  his  movements  care- 
fully lest  he  should  suddenly  vent  his 
rage  on  them. 

"  Whoop,  whoop!"  yelled  the  chief  for 
the  twentieth  time  and  making  another 
circuit  of  the  fire,  then  stopping  suddenly 
before  the  major,  who  was  eying  him 
coolly,  he  roared  out: 

"Wasn't  you  onct  in  Colorady?" 

The  major  nodded. 

"Yes,  I  was  in  Colorado  the  year  before 
the  war  began." 

"Didn't  you  list  say  a  minit  ago  tha,t 
you  never  was?    demanded  the  other. 

•'  1  can't  say  that  I  said  that.  What  I 
did  say  was  that  I  owned  no  silver  and 
gold  mines,  whether  in  Colorado  or  any 
place  else,"  replied  the  major. 

The  guerrilla  seemed  conipletely  non- 
plussed, and  he  stared  blankly  at  the  fire 
without  speaking.     At  length  he  said: 

"What  was  you  doin'  in  Coloradj' if 
you  wasn't  bun  tin'  gold  in  the  mines?" 

"  When  I  was  in  Colorado,"  replied  the 
major,  with  a  smile,  "I  went  attached  to 
the  army  of  the  West  as  a  lieutenant. 
Don't  you  think  a  man  can  travel  through 
a  gold  country  without  getting  some 
of  it?' 

"  You've  told  me  a  bold  string  o' lies, 
major,"  said  the  guerrilla,  again  resum- 
ing his  bantering  tone,  "  but  don't  think 
you've  fooled  me  outer  money.  I  don't 
care  where  you  get  it — you  ken  steal  it  if 
you  want  to;  only  remember  that  1  must 
have  it  before  you  go  loose.  Here,  you," 
he  continued,  waving  his  hand  to  two  of 
Lis  men,  "take  him  away  an'  tie  him 
fast,  ler  he's  good  iu  spite  of  his  talk." 

The  man  who  accompanied  the  chief 
a,nd  the  inajor  to  the  fire  now  approached 
with  a  companion  to  carry  out  his  orders, 
and  George  looked  for  them  to  take  the 
major  out  of  the  camp. 


His  practiced  eye  soon  saw  how  much 
easier  an  undertaking  it  would  be  for 
him  to  rescue  the  major  away  from  the 
camp  than  right  in  the  midst  of  it,  and 
iie  eagerly  awaited  the  moment  when  he 
could  proceed  to  t/ie  spot  where  his 
friend  was  to  be  placed. 

That  it  would  be  some  secluded  and 
well-iddden  place  his  experience  in  guer- 
rilla practices  assured  hiiu. 

This  rosy  view  of  the  matter  soon  fade^ 
away,  and  he  was  deeply  chagrined  and 
disappointed  to  see  the  major  led  to  a 
tree  within  a  few  feet  of  the  fire  and  se- 
curely tied  luind  and  foot  to  it. 

"Now  here's  a  pretty  pass,"  muttered 
George  to  himself,  in  clisgust.  "  I'll  have 
to  wait  hours  before  I  can  do  anything 
for  him,  if  I  can  even  then,  and  if  I  don't 
let  them  kiiow  why  I  don't  return  my 
men  will  come  jDver  here  and  spoil  thq 
whole  thing." 

As  the  major  was  placed  almost  in  the 
midst  of  the  guerrillas  he  saw  that  it 
would  be  almost  impossible  to  do  any- 
thing to  benefit  hiiii  for  some  time  to 
come,  therefore  he  resolved  to  return  to 
the  spot  where  he  had  parted  from  his 
companions,  to  give  them  some  instruc- 
tions. 

Turning  away  to  put  this  plan  into 
execution  his  footsteps  were  arrested  at 
hearing  the  captain  of  the  guerrillas 
speak  again. 

"l"m  goin'  to  sleep,"  he  said,  "an'  if 
yer  sure  the  Y'^ank  won't  give  you  the  slip 
you  can  do  the  same;  but  woe  unto  you 
if  he  'scapes." 

Then  he  lay  down  on  a  light  blanket, 
and  in  a'few  moments  his  resonant  snores 
proela{u;ed  that  he  was  wrapped  in  slum- 
ber. 

George  waited  no  longer,  but  stole  si- 
lently away  and  in  a  short  time  reached 
his  companions,  wiio,  as  he  had  pre- 
dicted, had  begun  to  get  alarmed  at  his 
prolonged  absence. 

A  new  dileunua  presented  itself  to  him 
in  regard  to  tliese  men;  he  did  not  know 
whether  to  keep  them  near  by  or  send 
them  to  camp. 

In  certain  contingencies  their  presence 
might  be  invaluable,  and  then  again  in 
case  he  was  discovered  and  pursued  they 
would  only  be  in  his  way. 

As  he  considered  it  improbable  that  he 
would  get  the  major  out  of  the  hands  of 
the  guerrillas  without  arousing  them  he 
concluded  to  get  them  out  of  the  way 
witliout  delay. 

This  done,  and  giving  them  directions 
whereby  they  could  scarcely  mistake 
their  w'ay,  he  hastily  returned  to  the 
camp,  where  he  found  afiairs  iu  much 
the  same  state  as  when  he  had  left  it. 

The    major  was  standing    fast-bound 


20 


LIEUTENANT  GEORGE. 


against  the  tree,  while  the  snoring  guer- 
rilla chief  lay  on  the  ground  close  by. 

The  other  thirteen  who  composed  the 
remainder  of  the  party  were  lounged  care 
lessly  about  as  if  only  awaiting  the  hour 
for  turning  in. 

After  waiting  impatiently  for  an  hour 
George  begun  to  hope  that  the  time  had 
come  for  action. 

The  rebels  one  after  the  other  spread 
their  blankets  and  dropped  off  to  sleep 
till  only  two  remained  awake. 

These  sat  for  some  time  longer,  and  at 
length  one  said  something  to  the  other, 
who  got  up  and  looked  the  at  major. 

"I  guess  yer  safe,  Yank,"  George  heard 
him  saj',  "an''  we  can  sleep  like  the  rest. 
If  you  bust  them  cords  and  git  away  this 
night  you  ain't  'uman." 

The  major  looked  disdainfully  after 
him  as  he  returned  to  his  seat  by  the 
fire,  but  wisely  made  no  reply. 

At  length  the  two  guerrillas,  evidently 
feeling  that  it  was  an  utter  impossibility 
for  their  prisoner  to  escape,  also  lay 
down,  and  in  a  few  minutes  were  in  as 
deep  a  sleep  as  the  others. 

George  now  made  a  careful  cii'cuit  of 
the  fire,  to  assure  himself  that  all  were 
asleep,  before  venturing  to  make  his 
presence  known  to  his  friend. 

As  he  approached  the  latter  he  saw 
that  he  was  tied  with  light  rope,  and  for 
the  first  time  our  hero  realized  that  he 
had  nothing  with  which  to  cut  it. 

Nevertheless,  he  stepped  boldly  into 
view  directly  before  the  major,  about 
fifteen  feet  from  him. 

To  say  that  the  latter  was  surprised 
were  but  to  feebly  express  his  feelings. 

Even  his  tight  fastenings  did  not  pre- 
vent him  giving  a  prodigious  start,  and 
he  hardly  stifled  an  ejaculation  that  rose 
involuntarily  to  his  lips. 

George  quickly  laid  his  fingers  on  his 
lips  and  moved  noiselessly  forward  and 
examined  the  cords. 

What  was  he  to  do?  Clearly  he  did 
not  have  time  to  undertake  the  laborious 
task  of  untying  them  with  his  fingers. 

Even  if  he  had  tried  he  would  have 
found  it  iiupossible. 

The  person  who  had  made  the  knots 
understood  his  business  perfectly,  and 
George  saw  at  once  that  the  only  way  to 
sever  the  cord  was  to  cut  or  burn  it. 

He  looked  around  irresolute  for  an  in- 
stant, and  was  startled  to  see  the  guer- 
rilla turn  over  in  his  sleep  and  mutter 
something  which  he  did  not  catch. 

This  sudden  move  on  the  part  of  the 
chief  disclosed  to  view  a  long  bowie-knife 
which  he  wore  in  a' belt  around  his  waist 
and  George,  with  diflBculty,  suppressed 
the  exclamation  of  joy  that  rose  to  his 
lips  at  seeing  it. 


Here  he  thought  was  a  chance  to  get 
out  of  the  predicament  into  which  he 
had  gotten,  and  of  which  his  having  no 
knife  had  been  the  cause. 

If  he  could  only  get  that  knife  from 
the  chief  without  waking  him  he  would 
not  need  to  remain  long  in  that  neighbor- 
hood. 

The  major  seemed  to  share  his  thoughts 
though  he  said  nothing  for  fear  of  awak- 
ing his  slumbering  captors. 

George  hastened  to  the  side  of  the  chief 
in  order  to  take  advantage  of  his  favor- 
able position. 

If  he  turned  over  again  the  knife  would 
be  under  his  body  and  consequently  al- 
most impossible  to  be  reached  with  any 
degree  of  safety. 

As  George  knelt  at  his  side  he  discovered 
that  the  bowie  was  within  a  leather  band 
strapped  lightly  about  the  chiefs  body. 

It  was  placed  in  such  a  position  that  it 
could  not  easily  be  moved  or  disturbed 
without  the  person  wearing  it,  being 
aware  of  the  movement. 

Laying  his  hands  upon  it  with  great 
care  George  pulled  at  it  gently,  but  it  did 
not  move.  Then  he  tried  to  push  it  the 
other  way  and  it  yielded  slightly  to  his 
touch  but  as  it  did  so  the  chief  groaned 
as  if  he  thought  it  directed  against  him. 

The  cold  perspiration  started  out  all 
over  George  at  his  repeated  failarew,  and 
for  an  instant  he  eontemplateel  liie  wild 
project  of  seizing  his  enemy  by  the 
throat  and  forcibly  taking  the  weapon, 
but  his  better  judgment  prevailed  and 
he  renewed  his  efforts  on  the  same  plan 
as  before. 

As  he  returned  to  the  task  he  discovered 
that  by  turning  the  handle  of  the  knife 
to  one  side  it  lightened  much  of  the 
pressure  of  the  belt  on  it,  and  that  he 
would  if  patient  be  able  to  withdraw  it 
altogether  if  he  proceeded  in  that 
manner. 

It  may  be  imagined  that  the  major 
watched  the  proceedings  with  the  greatest 
interest,  which  was  succeeded  by  im- 
patience as  the  seconds  slipped  b)'  and 
the  task  was  still  unfinished. 

At  length,  with  a  sigh  of  relief,  he  saw 
George  rise  from  the  side  of  the  sleeping 
guerrilla,  brandishing  the  bowie  over  his 
head  in  triumph. 

In  another  moment  the  major  felt  the 
cold  steel  against  his  wrists,  and  he 
stepped  awaj'  from  the  tree  just  as  he 
heard  an  ejaculation  from  the  fire  which 
caused  him  to  turn  like  a  flash. 

The  guerrilla  chief  was  propped  up  on 
one  elbow  looking  at  the  two  friends  in 
stupid  astonishment. 

Notwithstanding  the  great  care  which 
George  used,  the  rebel  had  been  aroused 
from  his  sleep  by  the  movements  around 


LIEUTENANT  GEORGE. 


31 


his  body,  just  in  time  to  see  his  cherished 
prisoner  about  to  walk  out  of  the  camp 
in  company  with  a  person  whom  the 
chief  had  no  recollection  of  ever  having 
seen  before. 

However,  he  was  not  given  much  time 
for  scrutiny,  for  as  soon  as  they  saw  they 
were  discovered,  George  and  the  major 
sprung  into  the  woods,  intent  upon  plac- 
ing as  much  space  between  them  and 
their  enemies  as  possible. 

This  move  brought  the  chief  to  his 
sejises  quicker  than  anj  thing  else  could 
have  done,  and  lie  sprung  to  his  feet,  dis- 
charging liis  revolver  after  them  at  the 
same  time. 

The  sleepers  were  instantly  roused  bv 
his  terrific  yells,  and  all  sprung  up  de- 
mamling  what  the  noise  was  about. 

The  chief,  shouting  to  three  or  four  of 
his  men  to  follow,  sprung  into  the  woods 
close  upon  the  lieels  of  the  fugitives. 

Suddenly  he  stopped  short  and  shouted 
back  in  a  voice  of  tUunder: 

'■  Bring  the  dog,  one  of  you,  quick!"' 

George  and  the  major,  who  were  rap- 
idly leaving  their  pursuers  behind,  felt 
their  blood  run  cold  at  this  order,  for 
the}'  knew  that  however  easily  they 
might  elude  the  rebels  there  was  no  such 
thing  as  throwing  a  bloodhound  off  of 
their  trail. 

"Hurry  up,  major."  said  George,  ex- 
citedly, looking  over  his  shoulder  to  see 
how  liis  companion  was  standingthe  run; 
"  he  means  a  bloodhound,  sure.  These 
fellows  in  tliis  country  don't  use  any 
other  brute  for  this  kind  of  business."' 

'•I  know  it,"  replied  the  major.  "I 
have  been  raced  before  by  them,  but  I 
always  had  something  "to  fight  witli. 
AVe"d  better  make  for  some  open  spot 
where  we  can  see  him  wlien  he  comes,' 
and  be  able  to  meet  him  on  even  ground." 

"  I'm  glad  I  had  sense  enough  to  cling 
to  the  knife  I  had  such  a  hard  time  to 
get  in  the  first  place,"  said  George. 

"  Have  you  got  the  big  bowie?"'  asked 
the  major,  joyfully.  "If  I  only  liad  a 
club  now  we  would  be  fixed." 

By  this  time  they  had  reached  the 
marshy  ground,  and  both  plunged  into 
the  water  and  slime  regardless  of  the  dis- 
comfort it  occasioned  them,  hoping 
against  hope  that  the  hound  would  be 
unable  to  keep  the  scent  after  reaehingit. 

That  they  were  perfectly  safe  from  the 
guerrillas  both  knew  well,  as  the  night 
was  so  dark  that  it  would  have  been  next 
to  impossible  to  follow  them  upon  open 
ground,  and  they  had  lost  sight  not  only 
of  their  pursuers  but  of  the  fire  also. 

They  liad  nearly  reached  the  opposite 
side  of  the  swamp  when  they  heard  a 
noise  as  of  feet  plashing  through  the 
muddy  ground  behind  them. 


The  major  had  scarcely  time  to  cry  out, 
"Look  out!  the  hound!"'  when  a  tre- 
mendous brute  appeared  a  few  feet  away 
coming  rapidly  toward  them. 

George,  who  had  carried  the  knife  in 
his  hand  during  the  flight  so  as  to  be 
ready  for  any  emergency,  grasped  it  more 
tightly  as  tiie  animal,  with  a  deep  growl, 
gathered  himself  for  a  spring. 

"  Stand  out  of  the  way,"  cried  George, 
seeing  the  major  about  to  advance  upon 
it,  though  entirely  defenceless. 

"  If  I  only  had  "a  club  or  something," 
said  the  major,  through  his  teeth,  as  he 
stepped  back.  "There  the  brute  goes, 
and  may  the  Lord  have  mercy  on  us  if 
that  knife  does  not  do  its  work  surely."' 

George,  however,  was  ready,  and  when 
the  brute  sprung  he  stepped  to  one  side 
and  plunged  the  blade  up  to  the  haft  into 
its  side. 

With  a  gurgling  growl  it  sunk  to  the 
ground  and  died  in  a  few  minutes. 

Our  two  friends  looked  at  it  for  a  mo- 
ment before  moving. 

"It  alwa\s  makes  me  feel  bad  to  do 
anythinglike  that,"  said  George.  "  What 
a  fine  dog  it  was.  It  was  a  great  pitv  to 
kill  him." 

"Weil,"  said  the  more  matter-of-fact 
major,  "  it  was  either  him  or  us  this  time, 
and  so  it  couldn't  be  helped." 

They  proceeded  more  leisurely,  now 
that  their  chief  cause  of  alarm  had  been 
taken  away,  and  it  was  an  hour  before 
they  parted. 

The  major  again  urgently  pressed 
George  to  return  with  him,  but  the  latter 
explained  why  it  was  necessary  for  him 
to  return  to  the  coloneFs  at  once. 

The  genial  major,  however,  made  him 
promise  to  pay  him  a  visit  as  soon  as  he 
could  get  leave. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE   OLD   STONE   HOUSE   AGAIIf. 

The  next  day  George  reported  to  the 
colonel  what  had  happened  in  the  inter- 
val the  events  of  which  have  just  been 
described. 

The  colonel  listened  attentivel}',  drop- 
ping here  and  there  a  word  of  advice, 
and  saying,  after  George  had  finished, 
that  those  who  had  been  worsted  in  the 
skirmish  came  back  to  camp  thoroughly 
frightened  and  reported  all  but  them- 
selves killed. 

The  colonel  said  nothing  of  it  to  George 
but  he  was  greatly  relieved  to  learn  from 
Mike  and  his  companion,  who  reached 
the  camp  sometime  before  George,  that 
his  trusted  scout  w-as  not  only  not  killed, 
but  escaped  himself  and  assisted  them  to 
do  the  same,  and   was  already  engaged 


22 


LIEUTENANT  GEORiiE. 


in  another  enterprise  for  the  I'elief  of  one 
of  liis  brother  officers. 

During  their  conversation  the  colonel 
referred  to  the  celebrHted  scout  whom 
he  had  just  given  George  orders  to  ap- 
prehend, and  said  that  notwithstand- 
ing the  delay,  he  still  meant  to  prosecute 
the  search  vigorously. 

The  special  work  which  he  had  been 
having  would  be  linislied  in  a  few  days, 
and  tlien  the  rebel  spy  was  to  receive 
attention. 

George  again  showed  him  the  little 
note  for  the  possession  of  which  he  had 
fought  such  a  bloody  battle  with  the 
bummers  of  the  Knoxville  tavern  a  short 
time  before,  and  the  colonel,  after  read- 
ing it  carefully,  said  he  would  make  ar- 
rangements to  have  some  one  present  at 
the  rebel  conference. 

Upon  the  termination  of  their  inter- 
view the  colonel  advised  our  iiero  to  take 
a  rest,  saying  that  he  would  not  need 
him  for  a  day  or  two,  and  he  \^as  at 
liberty  to  do  what  he  pleased  in  the 
meantime. 

George  decided  to  avail  himself  of  this 
privilege  and  go  to  the  house  of  Dr. 
Adams  and  see  whether  it  had  again 
been  attacked  by  the  rebels,  and  also  he 
wished  to  thank  Miss  Adams  for  render- 
ing such  timely  aid  the  night  before. 

But  for  her  he  might  now  have  been 
in  a  Confederate  prison,  and  while  riding 
along  this  thought  led  him  to  the  rebel 
captain  with  whom  he  had  waged  such  a 
fierce  sword-fight  on  the  day  before. 

Had  he  ever  found  the  paper  which  he 

hunting   so   diligently,   and    was    it    the 

paper  which  the   fat  man   had   placed  in 

the  craclc  of   the  desk  at  the  old  stone 

-  house? 

He  was  right  near  the  gloomy  forest  In 
which  the  house  stood,  and  he  resolved 
for  once  to  give  way  to  his  curiosity  and 
see  whether  the  fat  niyn  iuid  been  toiled 
in  his  ed'orts  to  prevent  the  document 
falling  into  the  liands  of  the  rebel  cat)- 
tain. 

It  had  struck  George,  when  he  saw  the 
man  secrete  tlie  paper  in  the  desk,  that 
he  only  meant  to  let  it  i-emain  there 
until  he  could  return  alone  tt)  the  house 
and  get  it  without  fear  of  discovery. 

When  lie  reached  the  cross-roads  where 
the  road  branched  off  to  the  house  he 
found  that  he  would  have  to  postpone 
his  visit  until  some  other  time,  as  it  was 
already  afternoon  and  he  had  twenty 
miles  to  ride  before  he  coald  get  to  camp 
again. 

So  he  passed  on,  and  something  over  an 
hour  later  he  reached  the  old  doctor's 
house  which,  greatly  his  relief,  he  found 
had  not  been  disturbed  since  his  troop 
had  ari veil  off  the  rebels. 


The  old  people  were  profuse  in  theii* 
expressions  of  gratitude  for  the  service 
rendered  thenj  on  that  occasion,  and  the 
doctor,  who  was  an  old  warrior  himself, 
interested  George  greatly  by  telling  him 
some  of  his  experiences  whetj  he  served  in 
the  Mexican  War. 

"it  was  a  sad  day  for  the  country," 
continued  the  old  man,  as  he  spoke  of 
events  year  by  year  until  1861  was 
reached,  "when  the  country  started  to  * 
fight  itself.  These  men  down  here,"  wav-  ■ 
ing  his  hand  to  tlie  South,  "  will  main- 
tain the  struggle  till  there  are  neither 
men  nor  means  to  fight  with."  II 

"There  is  one  thing  that  we  all  will  J' 
learn  before  it  is  done,"  replied  George. 
"  Tliat  is  that  the  woids  of  old  Andrew 
Jackson,  '  the  Union  must  be  preserved,' 
will  be  the  basis  of  the  conditions  of 
peace  and  the  battle-cry  of  the  loyal  for 
all  time  to  come." 

Tlie  old  man  was  greatly  pleased  with 
George's  principles,  and  after  consider- 
able more  war-talk,  he  was  obliged  from 
fatigue  to  retire  to  his  room,  after  ex- 
tending a  cordial  invitation  to  George  to 
call  upon  him  frequently. 

After  seeing  her  father  safely  to  his 
room.  Miss  Adams  returned  and  George 
thanked  her  for  being  instrumental  in 
accomplishing  his  escape,  and  asked 
liow  she  learned  that  he  was  a  prisoner. 

"You  needn't  thank  me,  lieutenant," 
she  replied,  and  tlien,  looking  up  at  him 
arciily,  repeatetl  his  words  of  the  day 
before,  "  I  w^ould  have  done  the  same  for 
any  one  else,  you  know." 

George's  only  answer  was  a  smile,  and 
he  repeated  the  question  as  to  how  she 
discovered  that  he  was  a  prisoner. 

"Oh,"  said  she,  "  you  weren't  very  far 
from  here,  you  know,  when  Citptain 
Blacli's  company  attacked  you,  and  I. 
knowing  that  he  had  so  mucli  the  larger 
force,  rode  out  after  you  and  saw  tiie 
whole  fight  from  the  woods  a  little  dis- 
tance from  you." 

"When  you  '"and  the  captain  begun 
trying  to  kill  each  other  I  knew  the  fight 
was  nearly  over,  so  I  remained  to  see  what 
became  of  you." 

"Your  men  ran  away  as  soon  as  you 
were  thrown  down,  and  then  the  rebels 
busied  themselves  in  doctoring  their 
wounded  and  in  securing  you  and  two 
others  of  your  band.  Then  they  went  to 
the  camp,  and  I  waited  to  see  what  they 
were  going  to  do  with  you.  It  was  al- 
most evening  before  I  found  out  any- 
thing; then,  as  I  was  riding  slovvly  along 
out  of  sight  of  your  captors'  camp,  I  saw 
a  body  of  Union  cavalry  riding  along. 
As  soon  as  they  saw  me  tliey  started  to- 
ward lue.  probably  to  find  out  who  and 
what  I  was.     After  putting  them  on  the 


LIEUTENANT  GEORGE. 


23 


ri^lit  track,  I  found  time  ttlet  you  know 
what  I  was  trying  to  Uo,  then  1  rodeiiglit 
into  the  midst  of  iheni  and  !<eared  them 
pretty  badly.  W'lieu  they  recovered  their 
couraye  they  foun<.l  you  \vei'e.^one." 

Wlien  she  liad  fini^iied,  George  told 
her  wliat  liad  liappened  to  hiiu  just  afrer 
inakiiig  l)is  escape,  and  she  was  greatly 
interested  in  the  story  of  the  major's 
rescue  and  their  battle  with  the  blood- 
hound. 

In  all  his  conversations  with  Miss 
Adams,  George  liad  noticed  a  sensible- 
ness  and  a  keenness  in  her  speecti  that 
charmed  him  greath-,  and  he  thought  to 
himself  that  he  had  never  known  any 
girl  who  had  such  a  clear  brain,  and  who 
was  so  thoroughly  devoid  of  alTectation. 

When  he  rode  out  of  the  avenue  gate 
the  sun  was  just  setting,  and  he  thought 
to  himself  that  another  night-ride  was  in 
store  for  him. 

His  way  led  him  directly  along  the 
road  where  the  light  had  taken  place  the 
day  before,  and  when  he  reached  the 
spot  an  undefinable  feeling  of  sadne|^ 
came  over  him. 

The  ground  was  trampled  and  beaten 
down,  in  great  contrast  with  the  rough 
rutty  road  above  and  below  where  tlie 
skirmish  had  taken  place. 

Dark  stains  in  the  ground  and  on 
broken  pieces  of  wood  from  the  worm- 
fence  betokened  the  battle  to  liave  been 
far  from  bloodless,  and  here  and  there  on 
one  side  of  the  road  a  mound  of  fresh 
earth  told  that  on  this  occasion,  at  least, 
the  rebels  had  buried  not  only  their  own 
but  their  enemy's  dead. 

The  sight  of  the  place  filled  George 
with  gloomy  thoughts  that  he  could  not 
shake  off,  so  he  gave  his  horse  the  rein 
and  pushed  rapidly  forward  through  the 
dark  forest  of  which  something  has  al- 
ready been  said. 

Going  on  thus,  occupied  with  his  own 
thoughts,  a  light  appeared  to  him  shin- 
ing brightly  through  the  trees. 

He  pulled  up  his  hoivse  abruptlj'. 

"  Well,"  he  ejaculated  in  astonishment, 
"  if  that  isn't  the  old  stone  house — the 
same  that  I  was  going  to  this  afternoon." 

HeTesolved  to  pay  his  postponed  visit 
to  it  at  once,  and  riding  to  the  cross-road 
he  sprung  down  from  the  horse  and 
"walked  quickly  up  the  broad  avenue. 

The  light  was  in  the  same  I'oom  as 
when  he  wa,s  there  before,  and  when  he 
looked  in  the  window  he  found  the  room 
occupied  by  the  same  persons  also. 

There  was  a  manifest  diflerence,  how- 
ever, in  their  relative  positions;  the  other 
time  he  saw  them,  both  were  seated  at 
the  desk;  this  time  the  caiitain  stood  in 
the  middle  of  the  room,  while  the  little 
fat  man  stood  cowering  against  the  wall. 


The  (taptain  was  pointing  a  revolver 
directly  at  liis  heart,  and  as  George  came 
to  the  window  lie  heard  the  ca(>tain  say: 

"  1  know,  Gryle,  tiiat  you  are  one  of 
the  njost  expert  of  tiiieve.s  and  liars  to  ]>e 
found  in  the  country,  but  I  must  have 
tht}  truth  or  you  never  go  out  of  this 
place  alive.     Waste  no  time,  now." 

Gryle  preserved  tlie  same  sinister  ex- 
pression of  countenance  that  George  had 
seeti  on  the  former  occa*;ion,  only  now 
his  face  was  distorted  by  fear  which  he 
could  not  conceal. 

It  seemed  lo  George  that  much  as  he 
loved  lite  and  feared  the  captain,  the  in- 
formation the  latter  sought  was  only  to 
be  wrung  from  him  at  iii.s  last  extremity. 

■'Captain,",  he  began,  "you  are  urk- 
oned  a  man  of  honor,  and  1  have  already 
sworn  that  I  cannot  help  you  in  your 
hunt,  yet  you  will  iifjt  believe  me;  but 
tell  me  whether  you  think  it  lionorabie 
to  kill  a  defenceless  pei-son  like  me." 

"Honor  you  say,"  replied  the  c^iptain, 
in  a  tone  of  biting. contempt.  "  You  can 
say  the  word  but  do  not  know  its  mean- 
ing. 1  were  a  fool  indeed  to  pud  any 
more  confidence  in  your  honor.  As  to 
your  being  defenceless,  take  up  a  sword 
and  defend  yourself  if  you  can,"  and  he 
put  up  his  re-volver  and  drew  his  blade. 

"Hadn't  you  better  look  under  the 
desk;  the  paper  may  be  about  it  some- 
wliere,"  replied  Giyle,  to  whom  next  to 
being  killed  outright  a  personal  ren- 
contre was  the  most  undesirable  thing. 

"Where  shall  1  look?''  demanded  the 
captain,  darting  a  piercing  glance  upon 
him.  "•  You  wouldn't  say  that  if  you  liad 
not  some  motive.  Are  you  going  to  tjive 
in  at  last  and  tell  me  what  I  seek  tx)  know? 
I  have  been  one  of  your  best  Iriends,  and 
1  can  be  yet  a  terror  or  a  benefactor  to 
you  if  you  will  become  honest  with  me 
once  more." 

'•  I'll  help  you,"  replied  Gryle.  making 
no  reply  to  the  olTers  of  the  other^  and 
advancing  to  the  desk. 

He  stationed  himself  at  the  end  nearest 
the  window,  and  a.skeil  tlie  captain  to 
lift  the  other  end  aside,  Gryle  himself 
lifting  his  end  at  the  same  time. 

There  were  several  papers  of  different 
kinds  on  the  floor,  and  both  stooped  and 
picked  part  of  them  up. 

They  quickly  glanced  through  them, 
anil  the  black  brow  of  the  captain  pro- 
claimed he  had  not  found  what  iie  sought. 

"Ditl  you  look  in  that  lower  drawer?'' 
querietl  Gryle,  pointing  to  a  small  drawer 
behind  tlie  desk. 

AS  the  captain  stooped  to  open  the 
drawer,  the  fat  man,  by  some  means, 
contrived  to  extract  the  paper  which  he 
had  concealed  before  in  the  crack  ot  the 
desk,  and  slipped  it  into  a  breast-pocket, 


24 


LIEUTENANT  GEORGE. 


jast  as  the  rebel  captain   raised    himself 
froiu  the  floor. 

The  latter  barely  caught  sight  of  the 
bit  of  white  paper  exposed  to  his  sight, 
when  he  coiuprehended  fully  the  motives 
which  had  induced  Gryle  to  have  the 
desk  examined,  and  springing  forward  he 
pulled  his  revolver  and  fired. 

Gryle,  the  instant  he  found  himself  de- 
tected, sprung  to  one  side,  tliereby  es- 
caping narrowly  the  bullet  from  the  re- 
volver of  the  furious  captain,  and  turn- 
ing, with  one  bound  he  cleared  the  win- 
dow, which  his  sagacity  had  induced  him 
to  leave  open,  and  springing  on  his  horse, 
which  was  only  a  few  feet  from  the  room, 
he  tore  down  the  avenue,  closely  pur- 
sued by  the  victim  of  his  deceit. 

The  two  figures,  as  they  passed  through 
the  window,  almost  brushed  against 
George,  who  had  no  intimation  of  the 
sudden  flight  of  Gryle  until  he  passed 
through  the  window  like  a  bird  on  the 
wing,  with  the  captai©  close  upon  his 
heels. 

The  light  was  left  burning  in  the  room, 
neither  in  their  haste  having  had  time  to 
extinguish  it. 

The  position  of  Gryle  as  he  stood  at 
the  desk  had  prevented  George  from  see- 
ing his  act  of  abstracting  the  paper,  con- 
sequently he  clambered  into  the  room 
and  went  directly  to  the  place  where  he 
had  seen  the  paper  put. 

A  few  seconds' examination  showed  him 
that  it  was  gone. 

"  I  understand  it  all  now,"  he  said  to 
himself,  as  he  left  the  house  and  walked 
slowly  down  the  avenue. 

When  he  reached  the  place  where  he 
ha(i  left  his  horse  he  heard  the  sound  of 
voices  a  little  distance  ahead,  and  creep- 
ing forward  he  soon  discovered  the  cap- 
tain kneeling  upon  the  breast  of  Gryle 
and  going  tli rough  his  pockets. 

At  length  he  pulled  forth  a  long  white 
paper,'and  striking  a  match  examined  it 
closely. 

A  cry  of  satisfaction  finally  escaped 
him.  and  he  rose  from  the  person  of 
Gryle,  saying: 

"  If  I  should  do  as  I  ought  I  would 
right  here  put  it  out  of  your  power  to 
conspire  against  any  other  person  for  the 
sake  of  a  few  dollars,  but  1  have  found 
out  what  a  miserable  creature  you  are, 
so  I  will  let  you  go  with  the  admonition 
never  to  cross  my  path  again.  Had  you 
your  own  way  you  would  have  ruined  me 
who  never  did  otherwise  than  treat  you 
kindly.  Enough  of  that,  however;  before 
you  go  you  must  make  a  few  confessions. 
First,  is  not  that  property  and  house 
where  we  were  a  few  minutes  ago  truly 
and  legally  mine?" 

The  answer  was  a  short  sullen,  "  Yes." 


"Now  go,"  and  the  oaptain,  when  the 
other  mounted,  hit  the  horse  a  sharp  cut 
with  his  wliip  that  sent  the  animal  down 
tlie  road  at  tlie  top  of  its  speed. 

After  watching  it  a  moment,  he  turned 
and  walked  slowly  back  to  the  house. 

So  these  characters  pass  out  of  our  his- 
tory. 


CHAPTER  X. 

IN   CANEBRAKE   SWAMP. 

The  next  time  we  see  our  hero  it  is  ten 
dnys  later,  and  he  is  in  the  headquarters 
talking  earnestly  with  the  colonel. 

He  has  just  returned  from  a  long  scout, 
extending  over  a  space  of  nine  days,  and 
he  is  making  his  report. 

His  search  led  him  into  the  mazes  and 
intricacies  of  Canenrake  Swamp,  and 
what  with  losing  himself  and  consuming 
all  his  rations  in  the  first  five  days  his 
experiences  there  were  by  no  means 
pleasant. 

However,  he  had  accomplished  what 
he  went  for,  and  there  was  a  world  of 
cheering  thought  in  that  fact. 

The  colonel,  as  he  had  promised,  had, 
as  soon  as  he  finished  other  work  assigned 
him,  devoted  his  entire  energies  toward 
learning  the  haunts  and  habits  of  the 
celebrated  scout  whom  he  had  received 
orders  some  time  before  to  apprehend 
dead  or  alive. 

Witli  only  the  little  slip  of  a  note  to  go 
by,  George  had  literally  scoured  Cane- 
brake  Swamp  in  search  of  the  meeting- 
place  spoken  of  by  Graycoat  in  his  com- 
munication to  the  men  with  whom  George 
was  compelled  to  fight  to  obtain  posses- 
sion of  it. 

It  was  natural  to  suppose  that  but  few 
structures  inhabitable  were  to  be  found 
in  such  an  undesirable  locality,  and,  in- 
deed, George  tramped  about  for  days  be- 
fore he  found  what  in  some  way  resem- 
bled a  shanty. 

This  was  on  a  plot  of  ground  entirely 
surrounded  by  water,  and  the  ground 
was  so  thickly  grown  with  trees  and 
bushes  that  George  wou.'d  have  passed  it 
by  had  he  not  accidentally  stumbled  on 
a  concealed  path. 

Following  this,  he  came  upon  an  open 
space  not  more  tiian  fifteen  feet  square, 
in  the  middle  of  which  stood  a  small  box- 
like structure  built  of  roughly-hewn 
boards. 

After  cautiously  beating  about  it  for 
about  half  an  hour,  George  was  assured 
that  nobody  was  within,  so  he  entered 
the  little  cabin  to  make  an  inventory. 

A  rude  shake-down  and  a  couple  of 
clumsily-«onstrueted  stools  were  all  the 
one  room  of  the  little  shanty  containedi 


LIEUTENANT  GEORGE. 


35 


the  only  evidence  that  its  occupant  cared 
for  coiut'urt  was  tiiat  tiie  floor  was  pleiiri- 
fully  sirtiwri  with  dry  cane,  and  even  tin's 
hardly  prevented  tlie  water  from  oozinj^ 
up  tiC(^asionally. 

After  leavino:  here,  Geor^re  trampeii 
many  miles  without  alifxhtiii!^  on  any 
other  human  abode,  and  it  was  the  next 
day  that  he  was  compelled  to  adnut  that 
he  was  completely  lost.  Still,  lie  kept 
on,  once  in  a  while  passing;  a  hut  made 
of  muil  and  branches,  used  probably  long 
since  hy  some  duck-hunter. 

This,  with  a  few  others  of  like  charac- 
ter, and  the  httle  island  shanty,  were 
the  only  things  of  the  kind  for  which  he 
was  lr>()king  that  he  came  across,  and  he 
was  sure  that  he  had  not  missed  an  acre 
of  the  entire  swamp. 

He  arrived  at  the  camp  two  days  before 
the  time  set  in  Graycoat's  note  for  the 
jneeting,  and  after  reporting  the  result  of 
his  expedition  to  the  colonel  he  retiied 
and  slept  soundly  till  the  next  njorning. 

The  next  day  was  spent  in  perfecting 
the  phins  for  the  expedition  that  the 
colonel  determined  to  make,  and  by  the 
time  the  ujorning  of  the  eighteenth 
dav  ned,  everything  was  ready. 

The  swamp  was  about  twenty-five 
miles  awayui  a  sort  of  basin  or  pocket 
formed  in  the  Cumberland  Mountains. 

The  rains  coming  down  the  steep  sides 
and  having  tio  outlet  caused  the  ground 
to  be  marshy,  and  the  growth  of  ferns 
and  cane  gave  it  the  name  of  Canebrake 
Swiimp. 

It  was  at  the  outskirts  of  the  swamp 
that  liie  (iolonel'scasalcade  halted,  about 
nine  oVlock  in  the  evening,  having  made 
nearly  the  wljole  distance  under  cover  of 
darkness  in  order  to  keep  out  of  the 
sight  of  the  rebel  scout's  many  emis- 
saries. 

The  party  was  composed  of  twelve 
men,  the  colonel,  George,  and  ten  others, 
it  being>.deemed  both  inexpedient  and 
unnecessary  to  take  a  larger  number. 

When  the  halt  was  made,  George  and 
the  colonel  held  a  whispered  consulta- 
tion which  lasted  some  minutes,  and  at 
length  resulted  in  the  order  to  proceed 
the  rest  of  the  distance  on  foot,  leaving 
the  horses  in  charge  of  one  of  the 
trooiiprs. 

Ai  er  enjoining  the  strictest  silence 
jpoii  their  followers,  the  colonel  ami 
George  plunged  into  the  mai-sh,  making 
directly  for  the  little  shanty  where  they 
hoped  to  lie  rewarded  by  a  sight  of  the 
renowned  scout. 

For  an  hour  the  troopsplashed  steadily 
on  withoiir.  a  word  being  spt. ken,  and  yet 
on  all  sides  stood  the  tall,  stiff  grass,  a'nd 
beneath  their  feet  theground.  if  possible, 
was  more  sticky  and  soggy  than  ever. 


Sometime  later  they  were  brought  to 
an  abrupt  halt,  the  wet,  muddy  ground 
had  ceased  altogether,  and  water  took  its 
placo. 

The  darkness  was  so  dense  that  they 
could  not  see  liow  far  the  water  ex- 
tended, but  the  outlines  of  a  lew  tall 
trees  could  be  dindy  discerned  against 
the  sky. 

'•  I  think  I  had  better  move  ahead 
ahme,  sir,"  whispered  George  to  the 
cohjnel.  "  I  know  tliis  is  the  place,  but 
I  think  we  ought  to  know  whether  there 
is  any  risk  in  ijroing  over.  The  place 
might  be  full  of  njen  for  uU  we  know." 

The  colonel  assented  to  this,  and  in 
a  few  seconds  George  had  left  them  and 
was  wading  toward  the  little  island. 

When  he  drew  himself  into  the  thick 
unilergrowth  that  lined  the  bank,  he 
felt  around  to  learn  if  the  twigs  would 
crackle  under  his  feet  and  thus  betray 
his  presence  to  the  ei.emy  hi  case  there 
were  anj'  about. 

They  were  so  limp  with  dampness  and 
water  that  he  found  that  he  might  walk 
boldly  ahead  without  fear  of  detection 
from  that  cause. 

Making  his  way  carefully  along  became 
almost  before  he  was  aware  of  it  to  the 
edge  of  the  little  open  space  in  wnich 
stood  the  isolated  cabin. 

'"Ha!"  he  exclaimed  to  himself  with  a 
thrill  of  exultation,  as  he  saw  a  light 
sinning  througn  a  chink  in  one  of  the 
walls.  "  there  is  somebody  there,  any- 
way," and  moving  forward  ne  looked 
through  tile  crack  and  took  a  hasty  sur- 
vey of  the  interior. 

He  drew  loack  with  a  start  of  surprise 
at  what  he  saw,  and  then  looked  agani. 

The  room  contained  four  men,  and  one 
was  the  very  man  whom  George  thought 
he  had  shot  dead  in  the  Knoxville 
tavern. 

Here  was  a  mystery;  he  distinctly  re- 
membered seeing  the  man  sink  to  the 
floor  with  a  deep  groan,  as  it  he  had 
received  a  mortal  wound,  and  here  he 
was  looking  as  hale  as  though  he  had 
never  fiad  a  liotiily  injui'v 

'•He  must  have  had  something  on  his 
breast  that  stopped  tnat  bullet,"  said 
George,  to  himself.  "•The  shock  that  i 
thought  killed  liim  oidy  knocked  him 
senseless.  At  least  that  is  the  only  way 
I  can  explain  it." 

With  this  remark  he  turned    his  atten  ~ 
tion  to  the  oi  hers. 

They  were  utter  St raiiiirers  to  him  and 
he  was  sure  that  liiey  were  not  anionu 
his  antagonists  in  me  tavern  figiit. 
tnough  they  were  uien  of  the  same 
stripe. 

All  four  were  smoking-  leisurely,  .-iiid 
George  could  not  tell  from  their  manner 


26 


LIEUTENANT  GEORGE. 


whether  they  Avere  expecting?  another 
person  or  whether  they  had  already  seen 
iiim  and  were  only  waiting  till  sleep 
overpowered  them. 

George  waited  a  few  moments  in  the 
hope  ot  heai-irsg  something  wliich  would 
throw  some  light  on  the  purpose  of  the 
ininares  of  the  cabin,  but  bein^  disap- 
pointed in  this  he  cautiously  retraced  his 
steps  and  rejoined  his  comrades  on  the 
other  side  of  the  water. 

TFie  eoronel  was  niuch  disappointed 
upon  learning  that  tlie  scout  was  not  in 
the  cabin,  but  George  totci  him  it  was 
still  early  aiid  that  if  he  did  not  put  in 
an  a[)pearance  soon  it  would  be  a  good 
idea  to  find  out  what  the  men  knew 
about  him. 

Trie  colonel  was  about  to  make  a  reply 
to  this,  when  sounds  near  by  I'iveted 
the  attention  of  all. 

Somebody  was  coming  tow-ard  them, 
and  from  the  distinctnes.s  with  which 
each  foot-fall  was  heard  it  was  evident 
the  i)erson  took  no  pains  to  conceal  his 
presence. 

The  troopers  were  hastily  ordered  to 
take  to  shelter,  and  by  the  time  the  new- 
comer passed  there  was  not  one  of  them 
in  sight.  «• 

The  stranger  paused  upon  the  bank 
an  iiistant  as  if  reluctiint  to  make  the 
passage  knee  deep  in  the  wat.er,  but  ids 
liesftation  was  only  momentary,  and  he 
sreppe(t  in  and  soon  disappeared  ii^  the 
trees  on  the  other  side. 

He  had  hardly  gotten  well  out  of  sight 
before  George  also  wailed  across  and  fol- 
lowed him  Xo  the  cabin. 

Wiien  a  few  moments  later  our  hero 
got  a  view  of  the  interior  of  the  cabin, 
the  languid  air  had  disa})peared  and  ani- 
mation had  taken  its  place. 

The  four  figures  who  had  been  lounging 
lazily  about  were  now  clustered  eagerly 
about  the  person  who  had  just  entered. 

He  was  a  short,  thick  set,  unprepos- 
sessing-looking man.  His  face  was  cov- 
ered with  a  thick  beard  and  the  gloomy 
expression  which  he  habitually  'main- 
tained gave  him  a  decidedly  fierce  look. 

'"I  thought  he  was  to  come  with  you," 
were  the  first  words  George  heard  as  he 
reachetl  the  wall  of  the  cabin. 

"You  know  more  about  it  than  T  do, 
then.''  was  the  non-comnjittal  reply. 

■;  I  gVi ess' he's  too  nmch  afraid  o'gettin' 
his  feet  muddy;  it's  uncoumion  wet  this 
time."  said  another. 

•'  Do  vou  think  he'll  come  at  all?"  asked 
a  thinl.' 

••  I  came  here  to  see  him,  an'  if  he  don't 
come  it's  his  own  lookout.  That's  all 
1  know  'bout  it,"  replied  the  new-comer, 
shortly,  as  if  he  preferred  to  remain  un- 
questioned. 


His  companions  seemed  to  take  the 
hint,  for  they  relapsed  into  silence  whicii 
lasted  so  long  that  George  begun  to  grow 
impatient. 

"  1  think  we  had  better  push  matters." 
he  said  to  himself,  as  he  turned  silently 
away. 

A  few  minutes  later,  himself  vmd  the 
colonel,  with  three  picked  men,  sur- 
rounded the  cabin  and  were  about  to 
call  for  its  surrender,  when  a  piece  of 
good  fortune  befell  them. 

The  door  opened,  and  one  of  the  men 
walked  to  wliere  George  and  the  colonel 
were  standing. 

A  moment  later  a  revolver  was  thrust 
into  his  face  and  a  hand  grasped  his 
throat,  choking  back  the  cry  of  fright 
and  astonishment  that  rose  to, his  lips. 

George,  who  had  managed  this  bit  of 
by-play,  quickly  called  off  the  men  and 
they  once  more  crossed  the  strip  of  water 
that  separated  the  little  island  from  the 
rest  of  the  swamp. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

GRATCOAT'S  HOME. 

The  captured  rebel  was  one  of  those 
whom  GeoKge  did  not  recognize,  and  con- 
sequently was  unable  to  judge  how  much 
he  knew  about  the  famous  scout. 

The  colonel  was  anxious  to  question 
the  fellow,  and  to  do  it  without  inter- 
ruinion  they  drew  ofT  a  little  distance 
from  the  cabin. 

"What  are  you  men  doing  in  thiit 
little  cabin?"  was  the  colonel's  first  ques- 
tion. 

"That's  whar  we  sleep  at  nights,"  wa:^ 
the  answer. 

"  Wiio  are  those  other  men  that  were 
with  you  in  the  shanty?" 

"They  are  pals  o'  mine,"  was  the 
answer. 

"  When  is  the  other  man  coming;  the 
one  you  are  waiting  on?'' 

"Don't  know  nothin'  about  nary  other 
man." 

"None  of  your  fooling,  now,"  said  the 
colonel,  sternly.  "I  know  all  about  hiuK 
Tou  came  here  to  meet  him,  and  so  did  1  ?"' 

"What  d'ye  want  o'  him?"  asked  tiie 
rebel,  in  amazement. 

"  No  matter,"  answered  the  colonel. 
'•Reply  to  the  question  I  asked  you. 
When  is  be  coming,  or  isn't  he  coming  at 
all?" 

"He  ain't  eomin'  at  all,"  replied  the 
rebel. 

"Very  well,  then;  you  shall  take  us  to 
where  he  is,"  said  the  colonel,  decidedly. 
"Lif  utenant."  he  said,  turning  to  Georgt", 
"this  man  will  lead  us  to  ttie  place  ww 
want  to  go." 


LIEUTENANT  GEORGE. 


27 


"Yes,  ri«rht  to  General  Lonpfstreet's 
tent,  if  you  s.iy  so.  'cause  tliafs  wliar 
you'll  find  liini,"  said  tlie  rebel. 

Tlie  colonel  tiuddt.iily  whirled  upon  him 
and  .stuck  a  pistid  umier  Ids  cddii,  sayiii{^ 
iu  a  deteriidiied  tone  at  tlie  same  time: 

"If  you  don't  want  your  brains  blown 
out  you  will  wait  until  you  are  spoketi  to 
bef<jre  you  bejifin  to  talk." 

The  rebel  seemed  amazed  beyond  meas- 
ure at  this  summarv  meflioil  the  colonel 
had  of  deaiinjj:  with  him,  and  he  kept 
perfectly  (piiet  till  spoken  to  ti{;ain. 

At  lenjj^th  the  colonel  turned  to  him 
and  said: 

"  How  far  away  is  that  man  I  was  talk- 
ing? to  yon  about?" 

"I  dont  know  nothin'  'bont  him,  I  tole 
you  onct,"  was  the  surly  reph\ 

"  See  liere,"  said  the  colonel,  sharply, 
advancing;  toward  him.  "I  captured 
you  as  a  spy.  and  the  ri^ht  thinj;  for  me 
to  do  would  be  to  hang  you  to  the  nearest 
tree,  but  I  have  other  use  for  you,  and 
you  can  save  yourself  from  the  jjallows  if 
you  want  to,  but  you'll  have  to  make  up 
your  mind  pretty  quick.  Are  you  goin^ 
to  lead  us  to  that  man's  abode  or  not. 
If  you  do  your  life  will  be  saved,  if  not  it 
won't." 

There  are  few  who  will  not  quail  at  the 
thought  of  a  death  on  the  gallows,  and 
this  poor  wretch,  who  had  already 
rushed  unawed  up  to  the  mouth  of  roar- 
ing cannon,  was  no  exception  to  the  rule. 

The  colonel  did  not  certaiidy  know 
that  this  man,  or  any  of  those  within  the 
cabin,  knew  where  Graycoat  was,  but  he 
thought  it  well  to  pretend  that  he  was 
fulh^  posted. 

The  rebel,  however,  made  one  more  at- 
tempt to  evade  the  issue. 

"The  other  fellers  ken  tell  j'ou  more 
'an  1  ken  if  you  try  'em,"  he  said. 

This  seemed  to  strike  the  colonel  favor- 
ably, and  he  called  George  aside  and 
spoke  earnestly  with  him  for  some  min- 
utes. 

They  finally  concluded  to  make  an  at- 
tempt to  ca  jit  u  re  the  entire  band  that 
was  in  the  cabin,  while  the  rebel  alread3' 
a  prisoner  conducted  a  part  of  the  force 
to  Graycoat's  abode,  provided  he  could 
be  prevailed  upon  to  let  out  the  secret. 

Mike,  one  of  the  troopers  who  was  cap- 
tured alongside  George  in  the  skirmish, 
was  put  in  charge  of  six  men  and  given 
orders  to  proceed  against  tiie  cabin. 

George  went  over  with  him  to  show 
him  the  ground  to  enable  him  to  guide  Ids 
men  intelligently,  and  left  him  at  length, 
after  being  assured  that  the  plan  was 
pei'feetly  understood. 

Our  hero  then  returned  to  the  other 
bod  J',  now  reduced  to  three  men,  where 
he  found  the  colonel  just  on  the  point  of 


moving  away  from  the  prisoner  after 
having  extorted  fronj  him  an  unwilling 
and  reluctant  promise  to  lead  the  wav  to 
the  stronghold. 

In  about  five  minutes  they  set  out,mak- 
ing  directly  for  the  mountains  on  the 
north. 

Mike  had  been  especially  cautioned  to 
permit  no  firing  of  arms  except  in  ex- 
treme necessity. 

Neither  tlie"  colonel  or  George  knew 
how  far  away  from  the  spot  (iraycoat 
might  be  lurking,  and  the  sound  of  fire- 
arms in  such  an  unusual  place  would  un- 
doubtedly put  him  on  his  guanl  if  he 
was  in  hearing,  and  ic  was  their  particu- 
lar desire  to  give  him  a  complete  surprise. 

It  was  a  common  saying,  that  if  he  got 
the  slightest  intimation  of  any  attempt 
made  on  his  liberty  the  best  scout  in  the 
whole  army  could  not  catch  him. 

They  were  therefore  playing  with  fire, 
as  George  exjiressed  it,  and  it  behooved 
theiii  to  use  the  greatest  care. 

Mike's  instructions  were  to  surround 
the  cabin  and  then  remain  quiet  a  full 
hour,  and  if  any  one  came  out  in  the 
meantime  to  make  a  prisoner  of  him  with 
as  little  noise  as  possible. 

If  the  colonels  party  had  not  reached 
their  destination  at  the  end  of  an  hour  it 
would  at  least  be  out  of  hearing  of  the 
sound  of  the  firing. 

The  rebel  prisoner,  closely  watched, 
led  the  colonel  and  iiis  men  through  the 
swamp  in  a  manner  that  showed  he  was 
intimately  acquainted  with  all  its  intri- 
cacies, and  in  less  time  than  George  had 
thought  it  possible  they  arrived  at  the 
base  of  a  steep  mountain  rising  abruptly 
from  the  marshy  ground. 

"Where  now?"  demanded  the  colonel, 
as  the  guide  paused. 

His  answer  was  to  strike  into  a  narrow 
path  which  led  up  the  side.  When  they 
followed  this  nearly  to  the  top  they  can/e 
upon  a  road  somewhat  wider  than  the 
one  they  had  left,  but  not  wide  enough 
for  a  buggy  or  vehicle  of  any  kind. 

This  gra<!ua]ly  grew  wider  as  they  fol- 
lowed it,  and  after  going  about  a  mile  it 
became  so  wide  as  to  admit  of  the  desig- 
nation of  a  mountain  road. 

They  were  on  a  small  plateau  Foine 
hundreds  of  feet  above  the  swamp,  and 
in  one  corner  of  it,  snugly  placed  be- 
tween two  hills,  stood  the  home  of  Gray- 
coat,  at  least  so  said  the  rebt-l  eaptaiti. 

It  was  not  long  till  his  statement  was 
verified,  and  the  colonel's  party  halted 
close  to  the  house,  which,  like  so  many  in 
the  South,  was  of  stone,  and  very  sub- 
stantially built. 

After  some  consultation  with  the  col- 
onel, George  stealthily  entered  the  yard 
and  approaclied  the  house. 


28 


LIEUTENANT  GEORGE. 


No  lights  were  to  be  seen,  and  he  was 
about  to  conclude  that  Graycoat  was  ab- 
sent on  a  scouting  expedition  when  he 
noticed  the  faintest  streak  of  Hght  at  one 
of  the  windows  on  tlie  first  story. 

A  closer  examination  sliowed  him  that 
all  tlie  windows  were  provided  witli 
close-fitting  inside  shutters,  and  that  was 
the  reason  he  had  failed  to  notice  the 
light  before. 

Tlirongh  this  small  crack  George  was 
enabled  to  obtain  an  imperfect  view  of 
the  room. 

It  appeared  to  be  a  library  or  studj'-, 
the  walls  were  lined  with  books,  and  be- 
hind the  desk  that  stood  in  tlie  midtlle  of 
the  floor  sat  a  man  rather  under  medium 
height,  and  altogether  of  light  build. 

His  face  was  smooth,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  an  ample  moustache,  wliich  was 
almost  entirely  gray.  Yet  he  did  not 
look  to  be  above  forty  years  old. 

As  George  applied  his  e>e  to  the  crack 
a  white  bull-dog,  which  lay  stretched  on 
the  floor  close  to  its  muster's  feet,  raised 
its  nose  and  snififed  the  air,  uttering  a 
low  growl. 

The  man,  who  was  deeply  engaged  in 
perusing  a  book,  looked  at  the  dog  and 
then  cast  his  eyes  around  the  room,  but 
otherwise  paid  no  attention  to  the  dog"s 
uneasiness. 

The  animal,  as  if  conscious  of  having 
done  his  duty,  lay  down  on  the  floor 
again,  and  apparently  soon  went  to  sleep. 

When  George  had  completed  his  ob- 
servations he  quietly  withdrew  from  the 
window  and  returned  to  his  party,  wlio 
were  anxiously  awaiting  his  return. 

He  quickly  related  what  he  had  seen, 
and  advised  an  immediate  sally  upon  the 
house,  in  order  to  prevent  Graycoat  tak- 
ing advantage  of  the  warning  his  dog  had 
given  him. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

RXJia    DOWjN". 

Having  agreed  to  this  the  colonel  con- 
stituted himself  and  George  to  pusli  tlie 
matter  to  some  conclusion,  and  accord- 
ingly they  advanced  upon  the  liouse, 
hoping  to  accomplish  an  entrance  with- 
out alarming  the  object  of  their  search. 

The  front  door  was  not  far  from  the 
room  in  wiiich  the  man  witli  the  gray 
moustache  sat,  and  they  resolved  to  try 
it  first. 

Whether  the  man  seen  by  George  was 
the  celebrated  scout  neither  knew,  but 
George  felt  so  sure  of  it  that  he  pro- 
ceeded, secure  in  tiie  conviction  that  if 
that  man  was  captured  Graycoat  would 
no  longer  be  at  large  to  harass  the  United 
States  troops  as  he  had  liitherto  doucv 

As  they  expected^  the  door  was  locked, 


and  to  attempt  to  force  it  was  out  of  the 
question,  so  tliey  moved  away  to  try  some 
other  point. 

As  they   passed  one  of    the  windows 
wliich    was    without     shutters,     George     JL\ 
stopped  and  whispered:  SI 

'•I  think  that  window  is  down  from 
the  top.     Let  me  look." 

So  saying,  lie  went  to  it  and  discovered 
that  he  was  right. 

They  at  once  made  up  their  minds  to 
effect  an  entrance  here,  and  George,  as- 
sisted by  his  superior,  climbed  upon  the 
sill  and  cautiously  pulled  the  window 
down  as  far  as  it  would  go. 

After  first  telling  the  colonel  that  he 
would  raise  the  lower  sash  from  the  in- 
side, he  clambered  carefully  in,  and  mucli 
to  his  satisfaction  reached  the  floor  in 
comparative  silence. 

Tiie  raising  of  the  lower  sash,  however, 
proved  to  be  a  more  difficult  thing  than 
he  anticipated. 

It  stuck  as  if  it  had  not  been  raised  in 
a  long  time,  and  it  was  only  after  a  great 
deal  of  careful  pushing  and  shakingthat 
it  begun  to  move. 

When  it  was  finally  up  sufficiently  for 
the  colonel  to  get  in,  nearly  a  half  hour 
had  passed. 

They  were  now  ready  to  move,  and 
George  found  it  was  necessary  for  him  to 
look  out  the  window  to  get  his   bearings. 

It  was  very  dark  in  the  room,  and  he 
regretted  tiiat  they  had  brought  no  dark* 
lantern  along. 

It  would  be  next  to  impossible  to  reach 
Graycoat's  room  without  attracting  his 
attention. 

After  getting  somewhat  accustomed  to 
the  darkness  of  the  room.  George  found 
they  were  in  a  room  which  connected 
w'ith  the  hall  by  a  door,  and  right  across 
the  hall  was  the  library  or  study  in  which 
he  had  seen  Graycoat. 

He  would  soon  find  whether  he  was 
still  there. 

Before  leaving  the  room  both  looked 
at  their  revolvers  and  other  weapons,  as 
they  each  had  a  very  high  opinion  of  the 
scout's  ability  to  take  care  of  himself. 

The  hall  was  reached  without  any  mis- 
hap, and  through  the  keyhole  opposite 
they  could  see  a  bright  light  shining. 

Tliey  had  hardly  stepped  into  the  wide 
hall  when  a  deep  growl  was  heard  in  the 
library,  and  immediately  afterward  a 
fierce  barking. 

"  This  will  certainly  frighten  off  Gray- 
coat," thought  George  to  himself,  and 
hastily  speaking  the  word  to  the  colonel 
in  an  undertone,  he  sprung  across  the 
hall  and  opened  the  door. 

Graycoat  had  just  risen  to  his  feet  and 
now  stood  behind  his  desk  coolly  eying 
the  intruders. 


LIEUTENANT  GEORGE. 


39 


The  dog  stood  in  front  of  him  showing 
his  teeth  and  grovvlinj.-:  savagely. 

As  soon  as  (jeorge  made  l)isai){)earance 
at  the  door,  he  made  a  spring  and  would 
undoubtedly  have  fastened  his  teeth  on 
our  hero's  tliroat  had  not  the  ready  re- 
volver laid  him  dead  on  the  carpet. 

The  report  seemed  to  rouse  Graycoat 
from  his  indifference,  for  he  sprung 
backward  to  the  door  in  his  rear,  and 
before  Geor<;e  could  pull  back  the  ham- 
mer of  his  revolver  he  had  disappeared 
behind  it. 

With  an  excited  cry,  George  dashed 
after  him,  at  the  same  time  snatching 
the  small  lamp  off  the  table  to,  light  him 
in  his  pursuit. 

The  door  led  into  a  narrow  hall  or 
passage,  Avhich  from  its  direction  com- 
municated with  some  other  part  of  the 
house,  and  down  this  fled  Graycoat, 
hotly  pursued  by  George  and  the  colonel. 

When  they  had  nearly  reached  the 
other  end  they  saw  Graycoat  pass 
through  a  door,  and  when  they  came  to 
it  they  found  it  locked. 

It  was  not  a  heavy  one,  and  a  few 
blows  and  pushes  with  their  united 
efforts  split  it  from  top  to  bottom. 

They  now  discovered  to  their  great 
surprise  that  the  room  had  no  opening 
save  the  one  through  which  they  had 
entered. 

They  thought  when  Graycoat  went 
through  the  door  that  he  hoped  to  delay 
them,  and  thus  allow  him  more  time  for 
escape,- but  wh^n  they  broke  open  the 
door  and  found  the  room  empty  and  but 
the  one  opening,  their  astonishment  was 
extreme. 

They  stared  at  each  other,  and  then 
simultaneously  asked  each  other  if  Gray- 
coat had  really  gone  through  the  door,  or 
whether  it  was  only  a  conjecture  on  their 
part. 

Each,  however,  was  certain  he  had 
gone  no  further. 

"There  must  be  a  door  somewhere  in 
these  walls,  or  else  that  man  isn't  a 
human  being,"  said  the  colonel,  finally. 

He  took  the  lamp  and  went  around  the 
walls,  searching  closely  for  indications  of 
a  door,  but  after  compassing  the  room 
twice  he  was  forced  to  admit  that  he  had 
seen  nothing  that  bore  any  resemblance 
to  what  he  was  looking  for. 

Then  he  went  out  in  the  passage,  and 
traversed  its  entire  length,  and  found  a 
door  at  the  other  end  but  it  was  heavily 
bolted  on  the  inside,  and  consequently 
could  not  have  been  opened  that  night. 

At  length,  he  came  back  to  the  room 
where  George  was  standing  completely 
nonplussed. 

He  looked  up  as  the  colonel  came  in 
and  asked  what  was  to  be  done,  but  his 


superior  had  done  all  he  could,  and  could 
suggest  nothing  that  would  help  solve 
the  mystery. 

At  the  colonel's  reply,  George,  who 
was  leaning  against  the  wall,  drummed 
abstractedly  against  it  with  his  fingers. 

It  gave  forth  a  hollow  sound  which  he 
did  not  notice,  but  as  he  continued  liis 
tattoo,  it  dawned  on  him  that  it  was  a 
very  queer  sound  to  proceed  from  a  wall 
in  a  house  like  that  one. 

The  colonel  did  not  notice  it,  as  he 
was  engaged  in  making  another  exami- 
nation of  the  walls.  When  he  came  to 
the  place  where  George  was  the  latter 
turned  toward  him,  and  as  he  did  so  his 
full  weight  came  againt  the  wall. 

What  then  happened  caused  him  to 
spring  into  the  center  of  the  room  as  if 
bitten  by  a  snake. 

The  wall  behind  him  seemed  suddenly 
injbued  with  life,  and  he  felt  it  moving 
away  like  the  sliding-door  of  a  large 
building. 

The  colonel  also  noticed  it,  and  also 
a  little  cavity  which  the  moving  section 
of  the  wall  had  disclosed.  In  it  stood 
Graycoat  looking  out  at  them  with  the 
same  half-indifferent  look  which  they 
had  seen  on  his  face  at  first. 

As  the  revolvers  were  pointed  at  his 
head  he  merely  waved  them  aside,  and 
stepping  outside  of  his  hiding-place  he 
surrendered  himself  to  his  captors. 

George's  good  luck  had  helped  him 
signally  in  the  capture  of  the  famous 
rebel  scout,  and  the  latter's,  for  once, 
liad  entirely  deserted  him. 

Graycoat  had  nothing  to  say  until  they 
reached  the  library,  when  the  lifeless 
form  of  the  bull-dog  met  his  eye. 

He  knelt  down  and  heaved  a  sigh. 

"  I  do  not  thank  you  for  this,"  he  said, 
turning  to  George.  "The  dog  died  doing 
his  duty." 

"lam  sorry  that  I  was  compelled  to 
do  it,"  returned  George,  "and  I  think 
you  might  have  saved  him  had  you  bid 
him  be  quiet." 

It  was  long  past  midnight  when  they 
reached  the  little  cabin  in  the  swamp. 
Mike  was  in  charge,  having  taken  all  the 
rebel  bush-whackers  prisoners  after  a 
few  shots  had  been  fired. 

Graycoat  was  watched  very  closely  on 
the  return  to  camp,  and  the  colonel  said 
afterward  that  he  was  never  so  relieved 
as  when  he  delivered  his  celebrated 
prisoner  to  higher  authority. 


It  was  oniy  three  days  after  this  when 
the  colonel  rode   up  to  camp  in   great 
haste  and  sent  an  imperative  order  for 
George    to    present    himself    at    head 
quarters. 


30 


LIEUTENANT  GEORGE. 


When  Lieutenant  Trellen  arrived,  the 
colonel  told  him  in  great  exasperation 
that  Graycoat  had  escaped  the  day  be- 
fore, just  as  they  were  preparing  to  take 
him  North. 

"  It's  very  queer  how  that  man  out- 
wits evei-ybody."  he  said,  in  conclusion. 

"Yes,  he  ought  to  be  a  Union  scout," 
said  George. 

The  fact  of  Graycoat's  escape  did  not 
prevent  the  members  of  the  expedition 
reaping  the  benefit  of  their  exploit,  atid 
it  was  only  two  months  afterward  that 
Lieutenant  Trellen  became  Captain 
Trellen. 

THE    ESTD. 


Pandy  Ellis  Afloat. 


BY  MARLINE  MANLY. 


We  sat  around  the  camp-fire,  smoking 
our  pipes  and  enjoying  the  heat  of  the 
logs  that  blazed  so  merrily,  the  flames 
leaping  up  into  the  air  and  playing  all 
sorts  of  fantastic  freaks  in  their  glee. 

The  boys  had  been  giving  rather  tough 
experiences  during  the  last  winter  and 
spring,  and  1  noticed  that  old  Pandy 
Ellis,  though  lie  seemed  to  pay  little  or 
no  attention  to  them,  being  engaged  in 
patching  his  moccasin,  was  taking  it  all 
in. 

The  twink^  of  his  keen,  gray  eyes  and 
the  manner  in  which  Boily  Wherrit,  his 
chum,  looked  at  him  several  times,  told 
me  very  plainly  that  the  old  veteran  also 
had  a  reminiscence.  I  kept  my  peace, 
however,  well  knowing  that  it  would 
come  out  all  in  good  time. 

Finally,  during  a  lull  in  the  conversa- 
tion, Bolly  turned  to  the  old  veteran. 

"I  say,  ole  boss,  s'pose  j'e  guv  the 
boyees  that  experience  b"  yourn  last" 
spring;  I  reckon  none  o'  theirn  don't  hold 
H  candle  ter  it  when  ye  ccme  right  down 
ter  hard-pan  facks." 

There  was  not  a  man  in  camp  but  who 
•was  anxious  to  hear  what  Pandy  Ellis 
had  to  tell,  for  he  was  not  the  man  to  re- 
late every  little  adventure  that  befell 
him,  and  yielding  at  last  to  our  impor- 
tunities, he  settled  himself  back  into  an 
easy  position  and  begun: 

"This  hyar  story  air  as  straight  as  I 
kin  tell  it,  an'  ye'U  hev  ter  imagine  part 
o'  it,  fur  I  hain't  got  ther  tongue  o'  a 
Cicero  ter  describe  the  hull  affair  in  iang- 
widge  o' fire.  In  other  words,  'I  will  a 
plain,  unvarnished  tale  unfold,'  as  ther 
feller  sez. 

"Last  spring  Bolly  an'  me  war  making 
our  way  down  from  a  pint  in  ther  ex- 
treme ]S[orthwest,  arter  a  season  o'  hunt- 


ing.    We  didn't  go  arter  pelts,  an'  what 
we  got  we  cached  fur  another  time. 

"  When  we  reached  Big  Bar  canyon  we 
couclttded  ter  separate,  as  we  seed  signs 
o'  reds  and  kinder  thought  they  were 
follerin'  us. 

"  I  laid  out  that  I  were  to  go  down  ther 
pass  an'  meet  Bolly  two  days  later  at  the 
big  bend  o'  ther  river,  'bout  twenty  miles 
below  whar  ther  pass  ends. 

"During  this  time  Bolly  intended  to 
go  around  ther  hills  an'  keep  his  eyes  out 
fur  ther  pesky  critters,  fur  we  kinder  hed 
an  ijee,  ye  know,  that  they  war  doin' 
ther  best  ter  sarcumveht  us. 

"I  camped  thet  night  in  ther  canyon 
wid  ther  tremenjous  walls  rising  up  fur 
hundreds  o'  feet  on  each  side  *)'  me. 
'Twar  a  grand  si|?ht  an'  all  thet,  but  ther 
time  came,  an'  thet  right  soon,  when  I 
did  not  appreciate  it  werry  much. 

"  I  hunted  up  a  snug  nook  an'  curled 
myself  up  fur  sleep.  Thar's  nothin'  like 
a  weary  tramp  ter  make  a  feller  drop  off, 
an'  I  lied  hardly  laid  down  afore  I  war 
gone. 

"  Sumthin' cold  on  my  face  woke  me, 
an'  I  found  'twar  rainin'  like  pitchforks. 

"  Wal,  I  leaped  up  in  a  twinklin'. 

"Ther  sight  war  enough  ter  make  a 
man  shiver,  fur  a  stream  now  occupied 
what  hed  before  been  a  dry  canyon,  and 
from  ther  thunder  thet  came  tgr  me 
from  above,  I  knowed  thet  a  flood  war 
near  at  hand. 

"•  I  knowed  I  war  near  the  bottom  of 
ther  canyon  an'  began  ter  wonder  ef  I 
couldn't  i-each  ther  end  by  a  smart  run 
ahead  o'  ther  flood. 

"No  sooner  thought  o'  than  I  per- 
seeded  to  make  sure  o'  mj'  rifles  and  re- 
volvers by  placing  'em  on  a  ledge  which 
war  much  too  small  fur  me  ter  think  p' 
holdin'  on  ter,  an'  then  I  put  in  my  best 
licks  at  runnin'. 

"As  thar  war  already  a  foot  or  tw'o  o' 
water  in  ther  canyon  this  did  not  prove 
werry  easy  work  but  I  hed  some  hopes 
o'  reachin'  the^-  openin'  till  I  kim  ter  stop 
an'  listen,  when  i  found  thet  ther  water 
war  jest  a,liead  o'  me. 

"I  guv  one  look  ter  see  thet  thar 
warn't  no  hold  hyar  thet  I  hed  missed, 
an'  then  turned  ter  meet  ther  flood  face 
ter  face! 

"In  my  time,  boyees,  I've  met  quite  a 
number  of  animals  thet  waj',  but  I'll  own 
up  thar  never  war  a  time  w-hen  I  kim  so 
near  shivering  as  on  thet  occasion. 

"Before  ten  seconds  hed  gone  by  I  seed 
ther  thing  a-comin'.  It  war  in  ther 
shape  o'  an  adwanee  wave  nearly  ten  feet 
Mgh,  covered  on  ther  top  with  foam,  an' 
lookin'  alfired  skittish  in  ther  peculiar 
gray  light. 

"Ther  rain  hed  been  comin'  down  jest 


LIEUTENANT  GEORGE. 


31 


in  torrents,  an'  it  war  enoiigli,  I   thort, 
ter  fill  ther  whole  canyon  chuck  full. 

"WaJ,  I  waited  fur  ther  critter,  an'  she 
didn't  keep  lue  lonjz:  now,  ye  bet. 

"Just  as  ther  w.ive  struck  nie  I  braced 
myself  agin  a  rock.  In  course  I  couldn't 
stand  them  tons  o'  water,  but  it  didn't 
wash  me  away,  an'  when  I  arose  ter  ther 
surface  ther  fust  part  o'  ther  big  wave 
liad  passed. 

"Comrades,  I've  hed  some  all-fired 
queer  rides  in  my  life  on  bufflers,  wild 
bosses,  an'  even  ther  steam  keers,  which 
last  war  ther  wusT  I  ever  kuowed  up  ter 
that  time,  but  this  one  beat  'em  all  clean 
holler. 

"I  jest  tore  down  that  canyon  much 
like  a  bullet  air  shot  from  a  gun,  an'  it 
seemed  ter  me  afore  f  could-  say  'Jim 
Cro  '  1  hed  reached  ther  bottom. 

"My  agony  warn't  over  by  a  long 
shot." 

"Ther  whole  bottom  hed  been  inun- 
dated by  ther  terrible  rains,  an'  I  found 
myself  in  ther  midst  o'atremenjouslake, 
as  'twar. 

"Still,  all  I  bed  ter  do  was  ter  giwim', 
though  fur  thet  matter  I  couldn't  see 
what  good  it  would  do  me,  ef  I  war  never 
ter  git  ter  ther  land. 

"  Arter  a  leetle  while  I  thought  I  could 
touch  bottom,  an'  tiiar  I  stood,  like  a 
Trojan,  battlin'  agin'  ther  current,  which 
war  kinder  sharp. 

"I  wanted  ter  hold  out  till  daylight 
kim,  but  doubted  whether  my  strength 
would  be  sufficient.  By  and  by  I  seed 
somethin'  comin'  toward  me  with  a  rush, 
an'  wen  it  got  closer  I  seed  thet  it  war 
ther  stump  o'  a  big  tree  thet  hed  been 
floated  off  from  some  quarter. 

"This  would  answer  my  purpose  o' 
keepin'  alive  till  daylight  come  much 
better  ner  standin'  thar  wid  ther  water 
up  ter  my  chin,  an'  I  determined  ter 
effect  a  lodgment  on  it. 

"Ther  log  jvarn't  over  ten  feet  long, 
wid  an  uneven  surface.  1  didn't  find 
very  much  trouble  in  climbin'  up,  an' 
gin  a  sigh  o'  relief  as  I  stretched  myself 
upon  ther  old  floater. 

"Ter  my  surprise,  it  was  answered  Avid 
a  growl,  and  then  right  afore  me  I  seed 
a  pair  o'  yeller  eyes  a-gleamin'  like  all 
possessed. 

"  I  knowed  at  onct  thet  ther  log  hed 
another  occupant  besides  myself,  an' 
this  a  painter  what  had  taken  possession 
fust. 

"Ther  animile  seemed  ter  think  he 
hed  ther  law  on  bis  side,  fur  possession 
are  nine-tenths  o'  ther  law,  as  ther  feller 
sez,  an' he  begun  ter  crawl  along  slowly 
toward  me. 


"  I  didn't  skeer  wuth   a  cent,  however. 

"We'll  hev  it  out  right  away,  Mr. 
Painter,  an  ter  ther  best  inan  belongs 
tl)er  log. 

"Wall,  thet  pesky  critter  kept  comin' 
along,  an'  as  1  didn't  want  him  ter  crowd 
me,  I  jest  begun  hitchin'  up  in  his  direc- 
tion. 

"This  couldn't  last  long,  for  ther  war 
only  a  few  y:.jao  o'  space atween  us. 

"  At  last  we  were  elost  tergether. 

"Thar  war  no  chance  fur  further 
evolutions,  an'  yet  ther  painter  seemed 
ter  hesitate  about  jumpin',  doubtless 
afeard  o'  tumblin'  over  into  ther  water. 

"  •  Ye're  a  coward,  ole  painter,'  I  sed, 
'an'  hyars  at  ye.  Ter  ther  best  man  be- 
longs tiier  victory.' 

"Wid  thet,  I  assaulted  him  hip  an' 
thigh,  but  ther  critter  fought  well,  an' 
managed  ter  gin  me  some  rayther  ugly 
scratches. 

"Finally,  arter  I  hed  dug  my  knife 
inter  his  side  two  or  three  times,  the  log 
begun  ter  git  rather  tilty  from  our  vio- 
lent motion,  a.«'  as  a  result  both  o'  us 
pitched  headlong  inter  ther  flood. 

"Even  thia  didn't  cool  us  off  wuth  a 
cent,  an'  we  war  soon  at  it  agin. 

"I  found  now  thet  I  hed  ther  advan- 
tage o'  ther  animile,  fur  I  could  manage 
mj'self  in  ther  corner  better  nor  he  could, 
but  ther  critter  were  game  ter  ther  back- 
bone. 

"We  fit  an'  gouged  until  we  churned 
ther  water  inter  foatQ,  which  war  often 
tinged   red  wid  ther  painter's  life-blood. 

"  '  Ho,  ho,  Mr.  Painter!'  I  said,  when  I 
seed  this,  '  I  reckon  as  how  ye're  done 
fur.  Them  clips  I  guv  ye  on  ther  log 
must  hev  been  more  serious  than  ye  war 
willin'  to  admit  then.  I  reckon  it  only 
naeds  a  'eetle  time  to  wear  ye  out.' 

"Then  I  went  fur  him  hotter  nor  ever, 
an'  soon  seed  as  how  he  war  played  out. 
When  he  guv  up  the  ghost  I  got  holt  o' 
his  leg  an'  towed  him  to  ther  log,  fur  I 
war  detarmined  ter  hev  his  hide,  at  least, 
ter  make  a  cap  outen. 

"Daylight  found  me  in  this  condition. 

"  I  hed  now  reached  ther  bank  o'  ther 
river,  an'  found  it  easy  work  ter  swim  ter 
ther  shore,  swollen  as  the  stream  were. 
When  I  camped  wharl  hed  agreed  ter 
meet  B0II3',  an' amused  myself  makin' a 
cnp  outen  ther  painter  skin,  till  he  come, 
avter  which  we  returned  ter  ther  canyon 
fur  my  rifle  an'  revolvers,  which  we  found 
on  ther  ledge,  fur  1  hed  fastened  'em 
thar. 

"  Thet's  ther  leetle  adwenture,  boyees. 
Now  let  ther  ole  man  go  oh  an'  finish 
pickin'  his  wild  turkey  bones." 


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MY 


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